AIBU? First time house selling

[rootsandwings89]

We put our first home on the market last Friday as we need to upsize and have more space for our family. We have a smaller sized 3-bed detached house in a nice area with a big back garden. Our neighbours have all sold fairly quickly in previous years.

I thought over the weekend people would have seen it on rightmove and we’d have had some interest/viewing requests but we’ve had nothing! I know it’s early days but I feel really upset and panicking it’s an indication our house will be hard to sell

Our estate agent also said he was disappointed and expected some interest but blamed it on nervousness in the housing market because of the war in Iran

Is anyone else in the same boat or had similar experiences? Am I being unreasonable or am I right to be worried??

The impact of the war in the ME is already having a major impact on world markets and impacting the cost of debt for potential buyers. This has a rapid effect on market price, ie it tends to cause falls in the property market. The pp is therefore correct; properties that are having no interest are v likely priced higher than what the market will paid. 'Priced to sell' means that it generates lots of interest and sells quickly. If this is not happening, the seller has over estimated the current market price.
If the war is 'resolved' very quickly, markets will rebound somewhat and people may well feel more confident. If this does not happen, major falls in house prices seem likely.

@rootsandwings89 you may want to monitor things for a month or so. However, if you are upsizing, a falling market may be a good thing for you as the cost of the larger property will tend to fall more than a cheaper one. Keep a close eye on your local market and see what is going on.

The market is a bit mad. It'll impact mortgage rates but also those saving a deposit like ftb. Our stock isa where we keep a lot of long term savings lost 5% in 2 weeks. Cost of living is going to rise again due to oil prices and so everyone is extremely unsure of their financial position. There's no way I'd be moving right now, it's impossible to predict what mortgage rate can be secured and our savings have taken a huge hit. I'd look at all your options. Prices have also dropped here, so the house we bought 4 years ago is now worth about 6% less. Hopefully the situation will change in a few months. If you absolutely have to sell right now, then you'll likely have to be priced super competitively in order to attract people or hit their new budgets. I wouldn't compare to what things locally sold for 6 months or a year ago, the world's not really in the same place.
If you have to lower your price, do remember that whatever you buy next will be cheaper and easier to negotiate for as well - so actually sometimes it works (although if you're going to need a new mortgage double check how the rates are moving).

If something is "priced to sell" then it will get viewings and offers. If it does not get viewings and offer then it clearly isn't "priced to sell". I cannot believe how many times I hear someone say that and complain about no viewings. I also sigh whenever I see EA's use that phrase in their marketing material. They have no need to say it if it's true. It's a good indication that the property isn't.

We've listed at the price advised by our EA, it's definitely pitched right compared with neighbouring properties for sale. It's on at almost £20k less than we listed it in November when it sold in 3 weeks. I think everyone is spooked, us included! So we might just cancel the listing and do renovations.

Op, is your house a full freehold or is it a freehold with estate management fee's ( a "fleecehold") ?
Managed estate fee homes are absolutely nose diving in my area. Its mainly because of inflation and cost of living increases I guess. The fact that its all over the news that we are getting another round of "becoming poorer" will make this situation worse for sure.
The market is very price sensitive for everything, but even more so for these types of homes. Things are out of balance with Estate Agent valuations and buyers ability and willingness to meet their prices. Basically where I am if its not priced as a bargain its not selling.

Out grown: smaller sized 3-bed detached house in a nice area with a big back garden

How many of you are there?

Would a delay to next summer be the worst thing in the world? What would change? Would there be a negative impact in terms of schools?

Most of us at some point or other stayed in a house that we thought we'd have left long ago, for various reasons. Market, financial hardship, grandparental illness. BUT it can often be a positive. The burning need for a playroom or multiple high chairs in a kitchen goes away. The inability to host Christmas is in retrospect a blessing in disguise when you finally move and issue an invite to all comers.

I hope you find your willing buyer but in the interim, I'd try to think about how you might make life easier for a year or two whether it's temp storage, a kitchen extension or just more holidays with the stamp duty you haven't paid this year😉

Sorry that’s supposed to say semi-detached.

There’s 4 us, me, DH, DD and DS. And the dog :)

The issue really is the kitchen and bedrooms are tiny, we all just feel very on top of each other. My DD can’t really have sleepovers or play dates because they’re followed around by her little brother and there’s nowhere to really escape him! We have a conservatory with a dining table but it’s Baltic in the winter and we can’t use it, so end up eating dinner on the sofa which isn’t ideal. And we only have one bathroom/toilet.

How do we know things won’t be worse in2 years time?

Is a ground floor extension an option? Get rid of the conservatory. That's what we'll have to do as we have a similar space issue and the same family setup!

I put on the market last week and accepted an offer yesterday. Buyer upped offer twice before we agreed (although it was sensibly priced to start with). Having bought in a similar market in the past I actually think it is a good time to buy if you are able to secure a mortgage / don’t need a mortgage. My buyer has also sold their property as has the person in the chain below them. Hopeful that it moves along smoothly although from what I understand the land registry still has huge backlogs which is unbelievable really.

I’m an estate agent and we were only saying earlier how quiet this week has been for viewings! We’re wondering if next week will pick up, with people booking viewings over the Easter Hols. Easter can go one way or another to be honest. Don’t panic yet!

Thanks so much - that's really reassuring! :)

Wow that’s amazing congratulations! That’s what we were hoping for, the house is priced at estate agent advice and also is in line with what zoopla says etc.

i hope it all goes smoothly for you!

'How do we know things won’t be worse in2 years time?'

We don't!

People have been complaining about not being able to sell their homes on here for the last 3 years or so. Others have been saying that it will improve but it has, in general, got worse. As I said earlier, a falling market may be good if you want to upsize.

Like a PP I’m interested in whether the house is freehold or ‘fleecehold’ or leasehold. The last two, people generally steer clear of.

"Our estate agent also said he was disappointed and expected some interest but blamed it on nervousness in the housing market because of the war in Iran"

I have been tracking mortgage rates for three years. Mostly in the 90-80% bracket but recently a bit lower LTVs too.

In the space of 17 days, the cost of a 300k mortgage for someone with a 5% deposit has gone up by £1500 a year on a 2 year fix.

In Spring 23 we had 5% and could get a rate of 4.89%.

It took almost three years to get down as low as 4.44% on 09/03.

Today, it's 5.25%.

Three years to come down, 17 days to go up way past 2023.

60% LTV went from 3.89% on 09/03 to 4.39% on 19/03.

It's not just nervousness, it's affordability, and the last round of cost of living insanity still being fresh in people's memories.

'It's not just nervousness, it's affordability, and the last round of cost of living insanity still being fresh in people's memories.'

The term 'COL crisis' implies a temporary crisis that will go away. Some people don't realise that this is a permanent situation and likely to get much worse, not better. It's not surprising that people can't afford as much as they could and are feeling worried.

You must acknowledge the global situation though? It's not about Easter or otherwise.

OP, keep your eye on the weekly UK Property Market Stats show, typically released each Friday on YT.

I love the show for reporting volume of listings and sales agreed. That'll be an indication of how the overall market is performing (pretty much same as previous 10 years recently).

Ignore the Average Prices used. This is hopeless from a supposed stats guru. This is where he slips into EA mode. He uses arithmetical averages which are uselessly skewed by larger properties and pricier regions. He should either be using geometric averages, medians, and best split by region and property type.

I wander if it’s worth putting on with another estate agents?

No, that won't help other people's affordability, but it will make people think you're desperate. You're better off discussing the asking price with your EA and reducing it quickly to get more interest.

I'd do it early in the week, because from Thursday onwards the market is likely to be flooded with new listings where EAs have been saying "Easter is the second busiest time of year for Rightmove clicks."

I agree with @KievLoverTwo. It's not worth doing as everyone uses Rightmove now.

Is this area dependent? Is it a struggle to sell in London at the moment as well? Or is London less affected

OP, this is a really important point for your situation that benefits you, and anyone else upsizing, in a slumping market.

For example lets say your house was worth 250k at peak prices - but due to slumping prices you end up selling at a 10% reduction for 225k. It seems like you lost 25k - BUT - the bigger home your buying was worth 500k at peak. That seller also needs to reduce by 10% to sell to you - so you get it at 450k. A 50k saving for you. So overall the transaction reality is you got a bigger house for 25k less than you would have had markets not slumped !

When you said "How do we know things won’t be worse in2 years time?" you are actually looking at it from the wrong angle financially.

In a slumping market upsizers benefit and borrow less than they otherwise would have. Only downsizers and exiters take the hit !

Is the property on right move? If it is then I wouldn’t bother with another estate agents. It always confuses me as to why people but on with two and both properties are on rightmove.