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.

We had people offer and buy our on top floor flat 4 weeks after they viewed it without them saying they really liked it to the estate agents. This coukd happen to you.

From experience: change agent now.

You need a proactive small chain agent.

@binlineri do agree with you to an extend but houses are still around 30-40k more expensive even in zone 4! Unless you really don’t care about location and are happy to live somewhere with less appeal. I grew up around the area my flat is in and there is a big difference in areas!

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.

If you want to sell you need to be realistic on price though.

@binlineri am! But also not going to give it away just to get a sale. I religiously look at sold prices and I won’t be going lower than I think it’s worth. I agree the listing price is optimistic

Please don’t try to encourage any government to offer incentives or interfere with market forces for 1st time buyers!! We need property prices to come down not go up.

@Advocodolove this optimistic post! Thank you - let’s hope so 🫶❤️🫶

We sold our North London flat 18 months ago. It was on the market for nearly a year before it sold.

Ultimately, it comes down to how much you want/need to sell the house. In this market, I think you have to get rid of the idea that a property will continue to rise in price, unless you are prepared to wait until (if) things stabilise and the market moves again.

You often see vendors saying they won’t sell for less than a certain price, because they won’t be able to afford an onward purchase. Buyers don’t care about that. They will offer a price they’re willing to pay, but it may not be a price the vendor wants.

How long are you tied into a contract OP? The agent should be working on your behalf and if you don’t feel that they are, change agents when the contract ends. It is usually a question of price though. Obviously you don’t want to ‘give it away’, but only you can decide how much you’re prepared to drop to get a sale, or whether you want to hang on and hope.

@speckledpinkhen

Of course there is a massive difference in areas & things change. I grew up in a part of London that is nothing like how it is now!

FTBs can’t really afford to be fussy now, their budgets were similar eg 500k for a flat in a trendier part or 500k for a house in a more suburban part. It also depends on lifestyle, they all want dc so wanted good schools & they all have hybrid working so have a little more freedom re location.

I think you might be forgetting the fact that through your flat is undeniably attractive and at what you feel is a great price IS THAT PEOPLE JUST CANT AFFORD THESE PRICES!

I said this on another thread but 5% interest rates with prices as they are a completely new landscape. Debt is so much more expensive & there is no guarantee you will get a good return on that investment.

@Advocodoyou don’t have to shout! I’m prepared to take a reduction but not £100k loss just to get a sale!

@Buscobeli don’t think it will continue to rise.as I said it has it’s asking price and I have a price I won’t sell less for. (It’s lower than the asking price)! People have just assumed I want to make a huge profit haven’t researched the market and don’t know that I will have to reduce.

I never suggested you lower your price or shouted at you. Just trying to put my point across clearly. If you read all my posts I have been very fair.

@Spidey66thanks that’s really interesting intel. Yes my brother has a house for sale and took 9 months then had a flurry of viewings!

230k for a 1 bed in Lewisham would still be incredibly cheap although likely ex-council

The relatively new build flats around Lewisham station/Elversen Road DLR even a studio flat is on for a lot more than 230k

Depending on when the last tenants left and what kind of notice was served she may not legally be able to rent it out again. She'd need to look into the renters rights bill to be sure.

I heard this being discussed on a podcast the other day - as FTBs are older, the concept of the 'ladder' has reduced as people go straight for the house further out. Also so many london professional jobs are hybrid so if you need to be in central 2/3 days a week being slightly further out is fine. I live in a commuter city outside london which is popular for FTB (lots of small Victorian terraces)

Tbh the ladder has been dead for some time but buyers seem more aware of it now. And a 32 yr old FTB is going to have different needs/wants to a 24 yr old FTB so it does make sense.

No we’re not on the market again…yet…it’s mainly down to me to drive the whole thing, liaising with EA, preparation for viewings…

DH not that keen to move (never was either a few years ago) he’s not against it just very entirely passive about the whole thing which I find so frustrating!

Your post just struck a chord with me, while I was doing an early morning scroll of Mumsnet!
I really do understand your position

For us, we simply couldn’t have moved with the sort of offers we received…

It wasn’t like we were looking to cash in on a 100k price rise after a year or two of ownership or like we’d had the property for a decade or two and felt entitled to (& more) than the huge price inflation over that time

Sigh, we just want our kids to have a bedroom each and not have to move miles out of the area

For now I’m keeping my eye on Rightmove daily, watching property forums & news re the economy

Also, I think the word ‘flat’ is such a homogeneous term for a property, although accurate…does not take into account very significant differences like leasehold vs share of freehold, garden/no garden, private parking vs no parking

Good Luck with everything! 🍀

Stamp duty is so high now too. When there isn’t a rising market to cover the cost, it makes sense to buy and stay.

@TurquoiseDressthank you! I am in a similar position, just want a lovely space for me and my daughter that I don’t have to sent (would save me over £1500 a month to buy as I’m paying rent and mortgage at the moment)! I’ve just had some really positive feedback (again) from a viewing that took place - so let’s see! Depends what else they’re seeing though haha xxx

I'm selling at the moment and my estate agent has told me that flats are just not selling. So yes, 6 weeks is early. I've just had an offer on my house and it took 8 weeks.

The market is terrible, the offer I accepted was the same as an equivalent size flat would be. I need to get rid of it but it's an awful time to sell

Problem is that you are selling something in a weak market (flat) to buy something (house) that is holding up better.

Ideally you would drop the price and it wouldn’t matter as you are buying again BUT here it does matter for the above reason.

Id give the agent notice immediately.

Years ago, I sold my first flat at asking price after a long period of no interest etc, a week after I gave notice. It bumped it up their lists.

Obviously the new agent’s proposed posting needs to be checked carefully by you before it goes online as the first few days are critical.
How much would a parking space rent for in your location? The garden should be part of the photos. Check they are extremely nice.

Ask the new agent what the strategy is for people who complain about the floor it’s on. That needs to be clear and thought out.

Make a list of selling points, laminate it and leave it on kitchen table to be read by everyone viewing. It makes a mini connection between you and viewers as well as informing the viewers of good points.

Once sold, pay any CGT in 60 days, put the remaining cash in the bank and get 3-4pc on it until the market looks like stabilising then offer on a house.

Good luck!