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?

Agents have a useful role but a big part of it is helping to keep the sale on track after a sale has been agreed. And doing the viewings for people who don't want to do them themselves.

Precisely, the first agent was just coming to the end of the contract and as the chain fell through, they were just throwing everything at it. It was my mistake to agree the strategy. This agent is suggesting the same thing as they are saying they are constrained by the previous listing price, but I just don't buy it.

I'll wait it out...

There is a way to erase your previous listing from Rightmove - if you wish to

Thank you!

So, If i put it on with another agent in say, a year, can potential buyers somehow see how much it was listed for a year ago? Is there a site that does that?!

If not, I'm not sure what the 'new' agent is talking about..... More estate agent goggbledegook possibly....

You can check listing history of a property on Zoopla. You can also check what a last propety sold for. We recently moved home and can see sale prices and listings since it was built in 2016.

Make sure that the correct post code, name of the area you actually live in, and the name of local authority are stated with your house information.

Dont agents legally have to state facts and have proof on what they are stating in ads, price comparisons etc. not just putting whatever people want to put

Maybe try another Estate Agent, but bear in mind property sales across the country are stalling. Once the Budget is behind us take advice for a couple of other agencies.

So your house is on the edge of a nice area, but not in it (and presumably some way from the centre of the nice area). The area your house is in is also really nice but not many people know that, as not enough of them are 'thinking outside of the box'. Yours has always been a nice area since you moved there in 2003 yet at the same time it's also an 'up and coming' area in 2025. Your house is also the same type/character as the houses in the nice area (that it's not in). The EA convinced you to put it on at a 'low' price and it did not sell. You seem to think this is because the EA only attracted buyers who actually want to live in the not-so-nice area (that your house is actually in, albeit not in the centre of) and that other buyers are incapable of using RightMove to find your house because of a particular office that is listing it, as if buyers view only properties for sale by individual EA office on RM and not by area they actually want to live in. Now you want to put it on for a higher price, presumably closer to the prices of the houses in the nice area (your house is not in). Have I got that right?

I have 2 plug-ins on my browser, Propbar & Property Log, which add previous prices & other details to the Rightmove listing, see attached.

It is very hard to get people to view properties that don't match their criteria so it's hard to sell a new area that they are not familiar with. Where I live we have certain houses & streets where we can sell before we put the property live but 95% of properties will benefit from the exposure of Rightmove & everyone uses RM & Zoopla, not many people register with an agent if they haven't seen them put up a property that they are interested in.

You lost me at the first paragraph.

Looks like i need to move to Salisbury!!!!

No.

But thank you for your summary!

I'd recommend adding Area360 for RM too. Allows me to skirt over all the flood risk, noise prone, high crime areas. I leave those to brave, stupid or knowledgable.

In my experience, which is London based, it's having the right postcode that matters. Being one street outside the "right" area is still outside that area and people will forever take the mick out of anyone who tries to pretend they live in Holland Park (for instance) when really they live in Shepherd's Bush.Yes, people will buy there, but they pay less for being next to the good postcode rather than in it.

I can't see any sense in putting the price up on the property. When you haven't managed to sell it at a lower price, how could raising the price flush an eager buyer out of the woodwork? Realistically, the first places/properties to lose value in a falling market are the "also rans" - the properties someone might have settled for because they couldn't quite afford what they really wanted. In a falling market the "good" area next door will be more affordable, so there's no need for people to settle for a street outside the good area.

If I have an item in my online shop that has been there a bit and not selling I take down the listing. I wait a few weeks, take fresh photos and relist with a fresh description which emphasizes different characteristics. This is an old retail trick and I daresay it works for houses too. Take it off the market and reslist in spring at the price you consider realistic.