Do I have a point or is estate agent the proven expert?!

[Itwasntmeshaggy]

My house is on the border of some recognisable areas I mean literally the border, My house is officially one area, the next parallel street is officially another area, and just about 50 metres north to me would be officially another area (different postcodes). It's on the cusp, then. One friend would say I live in X, another in Y, another would say it's more Z.

I had it on the market with a totally rubbish chain agent who covers X area, my 'official' locale. He kept showing it and then telling me the buyer has offered on another property deep into X area, far closer to another area than mine. For context, mine is close to the city centre, things going on, bus ride to well known places. The properties the buyers were going for were instead 3 bed victorian houses, near to nurseries, quieter, I'm 35 to 45 and settling down areas, 3 miles away. My area is cycling to work, stopping off for drinks on the way home, great shopping a 20 minute bus ride away to theatres, galleries. Just very different areas likely atrracting very different buyers. But the way the estate agents work, they draw a line and say this office takes this postcode and this office takes another.

The rubbish agent had a 'great' strategy to price mine low to drive interest. It didn't, it drove in chances who still wanted the other area but for a bargain they'd go with mine.

Now, my property is far closer in character and personality to the extremely close areas that the other offices that my chain agent cover and when I went with them they said they get buyers from the other areas. But I have since realised that they don't share properties between offices because they then have to share commission. It was a lie. When e had just days left of the contract my agent sent a half hearted email to another office saying 'if you like, you can try to sell this house, there's 4 days left'. I was NOT pleased.

I found another agent who says they don't work that way, they share between all offices equally. This would work for me. However, they say they are wedded somewhat to the low price the first agent put it on for because buyers can see the previous listing price online. So I said they should just sell it through their books (they boast they have lots and lots of buyers on their books) as the area my property is in doesn't immediately come to mind, it needs people to think out of the box a little, but then of course, it strikes many as great - cheaper than actual centre of town, but close enough for the advantages of that lifestyle. This agent says no, he has to put it on rightmove.

I'm totally put off by this and would prefer to leave it entirely for now. I feel like I'm done with it.

Am I wrong?

wrong in what way? You are right that the first agent may not have served you, and I’m not sure in the second agents reasoning. But don’t most viewings come through online portals now? So someone sees an interesting property and does a bit of research and calls the agent. I don’t believe the average high street agent does go through their ‘list’. I’ve never experienced that, even when I was a cash buyer desperate to buy having had a purchase fall through after selling my house and living in Aribnbs. I was still the one monitoring Rightmove daily no matter how many agents I registered with - not one called me.
In fact (at another time) I approached one agent I had bought through before and said I had X amount to invest in cash and his response was ‘ok You know where to find me’. No no no. YOU know where to find ME! Unless there’s only two agents in your area keep looking for a better fit.

My experience is the opposite. I'm very often called by agents asking if I'm still looking. I get lots of emails, and when I am actively looking agents do call and say 'what do you think of this one, go on, just take a look' Or if I call about one they say 'at the same time, how about you take a look at x'. They even offer to drive me round to them!

Loo, if it's all rightmove, there is nothing to differentiate them in the selling, it is just in the keeping the sale moving?

The most important thing when moving into a house are the advantages of the area. Fortunately for me, my house is near transport, stores, and different places. Its a nice area, advantages is everything.

Does it say that in the description? Intersection of x, y and z? Close to city centre with all the exciting things to do?
My experience is also that it's right move and Zoopla bringing people in, not the estate agents.

Surely most people use Rightmove so the postcode search is primary. Then distance from station. I use a drawn area because I look across three postcodes.

The first agent was lazy. But if agents don't have people on their books looking for something like your house then they don't really have much to add.

The market has stopped due to the economy and budget rumours.

@Itwasntmeshaggy Maybe I don’t understand this, but it hasn’t sold at ‘the lower price’ despite being with the agent and online (for 3 months?) and now you want to increase the price? And take it off Rightmove?

I also find the post confusing.

But basically, the EA is right that you would be pretty foolish to try to increase the price at this stage because yes, buyers have ways of finding out what it was previously listed at. No buyer would think it reasonable for a house to increase in price despite having not sold over several months at the lower price.

And pretty much everyone in England uses Rightmove, so the postcode thing is a bit of a red herring. People choose their own search area and decide how far they are willing to stray from their ideal area.

All the EA's (probably not 100%) use RM but that is only a part of the overall transaction. Watch the UK Property Market Stats show on YT and watch the second half of the show where they analyse the performance of EA's in a given town. Their results can be like chalk and cheese. Learn how to identify the best local EA's and then put your property back on in March next year.

Good luck.

Our house sold because the buyers lost a property on the same development and were trawling Rightmove the day it went on the market. They viewed and offered the next day.

There are postcodes that are regarded as better, obviously and similar houses in better postcodes will attract a higher price, but it is quite subjective and dependent on individual priorities.

You can’t increase the price if it’s not attracting potential buyers at the lower price. Take it off the market and list it in early spring next year.

Your property is not worth as much as those in a more desirable location

Buyers will still look at rm and see the other properties on the market

I was looking for over 2 years, often go phone calls and emails... all for publicly (rightmove) just listed houses I had already seen before getting the phone call/email and ruled out. Usually they had nothing in common with what I was looking for it was just I was 'on the books' so they contacted me with the 'new' house. Waste of everyone's time really.

EA aren't 'personally matching' people to houses, its not an episode of location, location, location. 99% of interest comes from Rightmove posts.

I know it hurts to hear but it might genuinely just be that you area is not that popular.

Its like a spot someone I know lives, its right at the very edge of whats know as the 'bad side of town' but just technically over the invisible boarder into a 'decent part of town'. Most that sees it is going to rule it out as the bad part of town though because postcode area or not it IS that 'bad' area. Those looking to live in the bad part of town (either for cheap housing or close to family as its only been rough the last 40 years of so and many nice families have lived their long before that and are very much born here/die here types) wont buy on the edge they want to be in the heart. Same as the EA always try to sell those houses as 'close town center' but they absolutely are not, I live far closer to the town center on the opposite side (good side of town) but am not described as 'town center'.

They always seem to describe it very similar to you trying to describing your area so thats probably why it stands out. People see straight through these things though and the area is really just a dead zone no one really wants to live in when there is better options available. Its stuck in just being just 'the far edge' of everything.

I agree.

@Itwasntmeshaggy to be on the border of a desirable area or even on the cusp of one does not equate to living IN the desirable area.

It's partly snob value, partly more nuanced things but you rarely get top dollar for houses on the border of the best areas. You can't make buyers "think outside the box a little" - there are always those desirable areas that everyone wants to live in due to the best schools, good housing stock, convenience of amenities, low crime rates or whatever and this has a big impact on house prices there.

I agree. Regardless of area x, y, z, if it’s been online for 3 months and hasn’t sold, increasing the price won’t make any difference.

If it's worth what you think it is, then the EA from the area you wish your property was in will be able to get offers over the price it was first put on the market for - if it's that good a deal then buyers will find it.

This - if a buyer wants to live in your part of town, they’ll have found the house on Rightmove and enquire at the estate agents you’ve listed with.

The estate agent does have a small role in chasing leads, following up etc, but ultimately buyers these days search themselves on Rightmove, not in estate agent windows.

I think your house is likely just not desirable at the moment - it’s a tough market.

The market is not good right now so a price rise - in almost any area - would look odd and I doubt would generate much interest. If you’re dead set on raising the price then take your house off the market for 14 weeks before relisting it (as Rightmove requires 14 weeks off the market in order for the new price to appear as a completely new listing)

Hi, it did have a very good offer but the chain fell through (that buyer lived in the area so was aware how great an area it is). I'm talking about my experience since then. That wasn't made clear in my original post at silly o clock this morning after too much coffee!

For context. My sister offered and was accepted on a house on the market for £1.8m. Her eventual offer was £1.45m. So I'm aware it's a rough market.

My area is an area not many people are aware of because it's got great property, but hardly anything is put up for sale. Last time a house sold on the road was 2017! People buy and stay. It needs an agent to steer people here. That was how I bought and everyone else I know on the road (I have owned it since 2003). It's also an up and coming area.

I'm good with keeping it or putting it on in a year or two. Thank you for your responses.

Thank you for that information. It's been off for that time. I am talking about the sites that buyers can go to that show how much it was on for previously. I think there are sites that do that. Could someone direct me? I'd like to have a look.

I know such apps or sites do exist, but haven’t used them. TBH if I were you, I’d keep it off market now till after Christmas and go back on in mid-January, when the market starts to pick up and by that time whatever disasters occur in the impending budget, at least the current uncertainty will have been clarified and people will know whether they are or are not in the market to move.

I absolutely agree! No one launches a house hunt in November, and certainly not this one. I'm not anti-Labour or Reeves, but even I fear she's going to cut most people with any type of asset off at the knees!

Yes, agents may suggest a property, but the first thing most people are going to do when they get a suggestion is look up the property online. If it is not there, the conversation will fizzle.

Yes, but i guess the agent would send a link to their own site, not RM.

This conversation is doing nothing to improve my estimation of the value of an agent!

I do thing buyers can find out previous listing prices. Weirdly on Rightmove if you click on recently sold sometimes it shows properties that were previously on with another agent and are now for sale with a new agent. They don’t look like there was an actual sale as the contents of the homes are often identical. It’s not consistent though.

i think if ppl don’t know much about your area and it’s not what the majority of them want then starting lower and generating a bit of a buzz isn’t a crazy strategy.