Do you think it’s time to reduce?

[sourdoughfan]

Our property has been on the market for 9 weeks and we have still not sold. We did sell in the second week but they pulled out after 3 days. Since then we’ve had over 15 viewings no offers. We’re now getting a viewing maybe once a week but most of them seem to be tyre kickers which is really frustrating, especially after cleaning and tidying with 3 kids and a dog! I’m not sure if it’s been slower because of august or it’s now time to lower the price? What do you think?

It could be the time of year. It’s the summer holidays / back to school period, so not an ideal time for some viewers who are navigating family life. I would leave it on a little longer, and also consider changing agents in a few weeks time. That can sometimes help. If after that, no joy, I’d consider reducing the asking price. Hope that’s helpful.

100% disagree with PP, terrible advice. Especially as your likely contracted and people can see past sales attempts which will look bad.

Things are slower in august but regardless your listing will be stale now and dropped down the rankings.

Its a shame your first offer fell through but the obviously weren't proceed-able legit buyers so don't really count and now 9 weeks later with no other offers its time to reduce to refresh your listing.

Sitting longer won't help anything and you'll miss the post august rush if you wait too long.

Thanks for your advice. Yes I think we will take it off the market and go with a different EA. I can’t say I’ve been too happy with them and how they’ve marketed the property tbh. Plus they cancelled all of our viewings when we sold even though the buyers hadn’t even shown any proof of mortgage etc. See how the next week goes.

Are you at a price point that could be affected by Rachel Reeve's tax possibilities? I think a lot of people are holding off to see what happens - talk of taxing the seller, landlords etc.

There's also a post Christmas rush btw - so if you aren't in a particular rush and would rather keep the price don't be pushed into it by agents who want their bonus at your expense.

Have you had any feedback from viewers and EA? I think there are a few factors in the market being sluggish (chains not moving fast, prices dropping a bit in some areas, WFH being less popular) so I wouldn't rush to change agents unless you really want to.

I think everyone is waiting till after the budget to be honest

This.

You are getting viewings so people are interested in that property at around that price point. So something is going wrong somewhere.

What is the feedback ?

But you’re getting viewings. I’d hang on a bit longer. And also ask for feedback,

It really depends on how urgently you need or want to sell.

With 15 viewings, I'd probably expect slightly more interest but I think if I were a buyer at the moment, I'd be waiting for next month's budget unless needing to move quickly.

Switching EA is probably a good next step, they might be able to provide some local insight too. If it's same again, maybe relist after the budget or reduce slightly

1. What has the feedback been? You got viewings initially, and a potential buyer — so it was around the right price point.

2. I agree that I think the EA has messed up somewhere, and it wasn’t a good idea to cancel viewings when you got an offer.

Based off the two points above - I’d either 1) reduce if feedback has been around size or price etc., or 2) list with another EA - this will “refresh” the listing.

Yes feedback has always been really positive. Beautifully presented etc. The only negative feedback is that our stairs are steep, but we live in a Victorian terrace so not much we can do about that 🤣.

The Budget will be a big factor as others have said, people waiting to see before jumping in (or not) with offers.

There's absolutely tons of houses on the market here (SE), more than usual, that's bound to have an effect in itself.

The Budget will be a big factor as others have said, people waiting to see before jumping in (or not) with offers.

There's absolutely tons of houses on the market here (SE), more than usual, that's bound to have an effect in itself.

I’d take it off the market until the end of your contract with the EA, unless it’s a very long contract, because that might take you towards the end of the year, when people get caught up with other things. It sounds as though you aren’t confident in the EA.

What are similar properties selling for in the area and are they selling quickly? The market is very flat in some areas and properties just aren’t moving.

The EA has produced nearly 2 viewings a week every week over a quiet summer holiday period, I'd say that was pretty good going.

Overall the market is slow, if you've had 15 viewings and no offers than lowering the price is likely the only thing that's going to change that.

Sticking it with another agent at the same price is unlikely to make much difference.

Time of year I think
You may find first / second week that kids return to school you might get a bit more movement
So you have two choices
reduce now to grab those looking
Or wait till October after the mini surge

What you do depends on your circumstances re moving ie how much of a rush are you in
The next house buying increase is usually around Easter.
But there’s the budget before then and it seems Reeves hates home owners so
Hard hats everyone

Yeah it’s difficult as I just can’t bear any more weeks of hanging by the phone waiting for a call that doesn’t come. I do wonder if the market is dropping off due to all of this stamp duty business. I’d be happy to reduce to move more quickly if that meant we also purchased the next house at a reduced price. But it’s taking that risk 😩.

Yes it's time to reduce, lots of others will be doing the same when they realise that the summer holidays are not the problem - values have shifted down in our area I'm sure of it. The budget is likley to make things worse so getting ahead now seems sensible to me.

That makes sense. In my mind it’s better to be in front of the market than behind it. Especially after the dreaded autumn budget that’s coming our way.

Well i think whatever Reeves has got up her sleeves it’s going to be drastic. Starmer has just brought in some expert finance person to advise. Which suggests imo they’re looking at ways to justify whatever the hell we’re all going to have thrown at us in October

but I am a born synic

I think it's particularly slow atm. With the budget coming up people are sitting tight to see what that looks like. I also know a few people who are viewing but are very much only going to offer or proceed if it is "the right house" and "ticks all boxes". With the expense of moving plus the hassel no-one i know wants to compromise and will only move for a particular house or street and if it . I've friends with houses on the market and off again a few weeks later as the house they viewed wasn't quite right

If you want to sell, you should reduce the price. That’s a decent length of time with no offer.

If you have lost faith in your estate agent and have reached the end of the contract term, I would give notice and take it off the market for a week while you choose a new agent. I would then re-market it with excellent photos and a reduction in price, perhaps 5%.

How many valuations did you get before choosing your EA? If you are get viewings but no offers then there's a mismatch somewhere. What is the feedback from the EA themselves, not the viewers?
Why did your 1st potential buyers pull out?

The budget has been announced as 26th November, that's still plenty of time to buy before it.