Looking for good news stories of flat sales in London

[speckledpinkhen]

I bought what I genuinely thought was the perfect one-bed flat in East London about 10 years ago. Victorian conversion, top floor, lovely kitchen, private garden, parking, share of freehold and low service charges. I lived in it myself for years and then rented it out for the past five years. I’m now selling it.

I took ages choosing an agent because I really wanted someone proactive. The flat went on the market in April and we had five viewings booked in within the first three weeks. Feedback was generally positive but no offers, and apart from one person who offered on another flat, nobody really explained why they didn’t proceed.

Now we’re six weeks in and, after the initial flurry, I’ve only had one further viewing. I know the market is slower at the moment, especially for flats, but I’m struggling to work out whether this is fairly normal or whether my agent just isn’t doing enough.

I’m especially frustrated because we recently realised they’d listed the property without ticking the garden or parking filters on Rightmove, which feels like quite a major oversight given those are two of its biggest selling points. They also won’t make it a featured property on Rightmove, and other than suggesting a fairly significant price reduction, they haven’t really explained what else they’re doing to generate viewings.

To make it more confusing, a nearby one-bed with no garden sold recently for around £50k more than mine.

I’m not looking for “London flats are impossible to sell” horror stories, more wondering:

• Is six weeks actually still early days?
• Are agents generally quite passive after the initial launch?
• Should they be doing more to keep momentum going?
• Has anyone had a flat go quiet and then suddenly sell a few weeks or months later?

Would really appreciate any balanced insight from people who’ve sold recently.

How does it compare to other flats locally up for a similar price?

Is the listing detailing the important bits now, so does it list all charges etc?

We sold our flat, its in zone 1 and a three bed, so a slightly different market. Are your agents actively contacting clients? As well as being on rightmove they should be sending it directly to clients who have expressed an interest in one bed flats in the area.

@TurquoiseDressyour flat sound wonderful and I’m surprised you got no higher offer the first time round. Is it on the market again? Our situations are so similar. There is an amount I want for the flat and I won’t accept lower as I won’t then be able to buy a place where I live now.

I also totally relate to how these so called experts don’t seem to flag the important things - share of freehold (mine was on as leasehold) garden etc etc! I think being ground floor is a great position to be in too. Keeping everything crossed for you. I had hoped Starmer might have put some incentives for first times buyers in but he doesn’t want to help ignite the economy and now we’re in this bi election ridiculousness! Keep me updated - I’m sorry we’re in the same boat but it does comfort me a little bit xx

@SimonjtI've compared flats in area and local area and nothing similar on at the same price point. A lot of two build new build with £2:5k service charges etc.

I have asked them what they’re doing to get more viewings and they can’t answer they just go back that the market is bad and lower price! Seems such a lazy response!

It could be because it’s a one bed tbh. We sold our 2 bed share of freehold Victorian conversion in SE London at full asking price (£525) in 4 weeks. We got a huge amount of viewings but no offers until week 4 where we got 3. It could just be a matter of time.

Does it look like a rented flat? I personally hated the flats that looked tenanted when we were looking years ago - I’m not sure why.

You also might want to consider changing agents. During our search for our current house, I soon realised which agents I wanted to deal with (not Dexter’s)!

Sorry I keep thinking of new things. Our flat and the garden were immaculate. It was a nightmare to do and maintain during the sales process but because we were selling at the higher end of prices in our area, we knew our buyer was likely to be someone who didn’t want to have to do anything (and we didn’t want anyone trying to knock money off). The garden was 100ft long (area has very big gardens) and that on its own was hard work. But it was also its selling point. Think about your target buyer and work out if the flat is in the right condition for them.

@kirinmall great points and totally think if it was two bed it would have been snapped up. It is empty as tenants have moved out and I have some great photos I got privately done when I lived there (for rental) so looks like a proper home (the photos done by the agent with tenants in situ looked horrendous as my tenants had no sense of style and had a single pull out bed so hardly sold the flat as a nice double bedroom) I’m happy with the photos and the flat has all been freshly painted and newly carpeted (with a new boiler too)

@kirinmflat is very clean and tidy! Garden was cleared but I don’t live there so maybe some leaves etc have fallen! It’s cobblestone so no grass, but with flower beds etc

So you’re in a desirable part of east London / Essex borders five minutes walk to the central line. Your flat ticks a lot of boxes, which makes me think that even only being on the market for six weeks and considering the general climate that £375k is a bit on the high side as you’ve had no offers? I’m seeing a lot of flats on Rightmove in that neck of the woods selling for £340 - £390k but most of them are two bedders.

My DD bought a large bright one-bed flat six months ago. Zone 2, SE London. A large balcony but no garden, and it is leasehold. There is off street parking, though. She paid 230k. So it seems to me that 375 is very expensive.

@Nottopanicbut it depends on the area. A lot of SE London is much cheaper than where my flat is. It’s very nice area of East London, with houses going for millions. Leasehold is less appealing than share of freehold xxx

@fundamentallyauthenticyes! Where I am 2 beds go for over £400k (unless new builds and high service charge)! The one bed that recently sold with no outside space in a conversion was on for £425k and sold stc so would have at least got £400k I assume.

However 2 x two beds in my building (one with not much more space than mine) went for £500k a year ago and the lower ground floor went for £550k a few months ago!

You can’t compare different parts of London. I sold my flat in zone 2 SE London for £525k but it would’ve been closer to £700k in SW London.

And a flat without outside space is worth considerably less than a flat with a garden.

Your situation was exactly mine 5 years ago! Ny flat was in an expensive area of SE london and I think because there was so many houses which would have given them a bigger commission they were less bothered to push mine. I pretty much had to write my own selling blurb 🙄 I ended up accepting a much lower offer as I really needed to release the £ so I could get out of rented and buy. I think it's a very difficult time for selling in general, I live outside london now and houses are staying on the market for ages/being reduced. I think 1 beds generally appeal to FTB and that end of the market is struggling (most FTBs will struggle to raise £375k). Definitely keep at it, but be prepared to reduce the price to account for a tough market (you can put on a cheaper offer on the place to buy so it all works out when you are both buying and selling)

£230k in Zone 2 sounds incredibly cheap. Is it Lewisham? And is it a Victorian?

Bottom line if it's not selling, consider reducing the price

Not Victorian. It’s 1970s. Yes, Lewisham.
She wouldn’t have looked at anything at the 375 mark- it would be way beyond her, even if there were price negotiations. Surely most first-time buyers couldn’t raise that sort of money. Her one non-negotiable was outside space.

Sounds tough. I think the market for FTBs has slumped (your most likely buyer) so this is probably the biggest reason you’re not selling along with, I’m afraid to say, the price. Affordability for FTBs is very difficult and who knows what is happening with mortgage rates in the current climate. There are most likely plenty of options for those who are in a position to buy. Also you are guessing what the other flat near you sold for? Unless you know it went for 50 grand more it’s pointless speculating.

In a tough market you have to have the property presented immaculately and sell a lifestyle. I see you also said you have a price you need to get for your onward purchase but the hard truth is you may not be able to achieve that in today’s climate. Seller’s expectations of a price are not in line with reality at the moment.

EAs are stuck in a hard place too. They know that price reductions are needed but vendors are still in a higher priced mindset.

It does have outside space.

@Yellowchair1thanks so much - great advice and happy to reduce but not to so low I give it away xxx

@NottopanicLewishham and where my flat is are two totally different areas so would explain the huge difference in price here plus it’s a leasehold.

There are a lot of flats for sale in London so
more competition plus people are more cautious due to interest rates and the fact so many have stagnated or lost value in the last few years.

I think the target market has shrunk, the city is less attractive to younger people and I know 3 couples who would have traditionally bought a flat in z2 as FTBs but instead they have bought small houses in z4. With the age of FTBs, & costs of moving (stamp duty) it makes sense to skip a rung tbh.

But on a positive note you have a garden it’s an older property etc and the EA defo could be doing more.

Yes, I understand that, but my point is, my DD wasn’t that fussed where the flat was, except it had to be z2-3. The price and outside space mattered more than anything. And that’s likely to be why you’re not getting the viewings and offers. You will also be competing against shared ownership properties- not the v expensive new builds with huge service charges, but the older ones on the resale market.

@NottopanicI will politely agree to disagree with you. The

It's the price - it's always the price, especially as it sounds so lovely in every way. It's only worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it. Price it too high and some people who may be prepared to make you an acceptable offer won't even be seeing it. When we were in a similar position - shelling out on rent and mortgage when our tenants moved out and we decided to sell - we calculated how much it was costing us in rent and mortgage payments for every month it didn't sell and adjusted the price accordingly. It soon adds up. I also think when a property is empty (as ours was) you are not selling a a lifestyle - I know some people say they find it easier to visualise with nothing in it, but there's nothing to style up.