Anyone else finding it difficult to sell a larger family home?

[Pickleandwhizz]

Anyone struggling to sell their home, ok we have only been on a month and ive not moved for the last 15yrs. We are trying to downsize, we have a 5 bed detached in its own plot with double garage, brand new kitchen and boiler only fitted few days ago, log burner, its a 1980,s home so all the rooms are large, ive parking for 8 cars. Its was initially on for 425 but we reduced to 410, we are happy to take 395 for it but people who come love it yet they cant afford it, they want it for 375 but if i sold for that we couldnt buy what we want. Estate agents are saying people want something for nothing and its because they cant get a mortgage. Anyone else trying to sell?

Exactly - if you price it too high then people won’t even be able to get the mortgage for it!

Totally. The market isn’t going to suddenly go up! There are some houses near me priced 100-150k over what they paid 4/5 years ago. The market hasn’t risen that much since then. The owners seem to forget people can just check zoopla or right move to see what they paid! No wonder they aren’t selling.

House prices have gone up far too much in recent years. A house is only worth what somebody is prepared to pay for it at the time. A lot of folk don't want large gardens. Too much work for them or cost of gardners.

And for the markets to "get a grip", it is going to need some people to drop prices. There will always be people who have to sell and will do this. Which will set out the floor and ceiling pricing. I hear you OP. Nightmare time to sell. But I am unfortunately part of "it's always the price" camp.

It is the price unfortunately but that doesn’t necessarily mean your house isn’t worth that. Its the COL factors. We have umm’d and ahh’d about moving and decided against it, all the extra costs aren’t worth it, not just the larger mortgage, but CT, utilities etc, we would rather stay comfortable, and we are comfortable and with interest rates all over the place its a big risk. 4/5 bed are definitely stagnant in my area too- i imagine for the reasons i have just described. Nothing particularly wrong with the house just people aren’t willing to shell out more with rises costs everywhere else.

Prices from the previous few years - when borrowing costs were still at emergency low rates - simply aren't achievable anymore.
Price to account for current affordability and you can sell. Pretend that the landscape hasn't changed and that prices are not adjusting downwards and you may struggle to even get viewings. We are at the beginning of a slump in values. Its unpleasant for those that want to move but eventually it will get better. It always does. If you stretched to buy in the last 5 years though - you probably won't be able to get back what you paid for quite a while. Sellers, and agents, still pricing like interest rates are 1% and cost of living increases/inflation didn't happen - are just in la la land.

People are afraid, the market is getting difficult, associated costs are high. I know a couple with 2dc looking for a 4 bed. They’ve been looking for a long long time and they are basically terrified of the big mortgage or having to spend major money on kitchen/bathroom in a new place, combined with constant col increases - so they always opt to stay in their little place despite viewing houses. There are also houses near me sticking on the market. On a 395k house, the costs of moving are quite hefty. 10k on stamp duty/land tax, a couple of grand to solicitors, maybe a grand or two to estate agent if selling their own property, moving your stuff for another 1/2k, survey etc. Basically they’re looking at 20 grand down the drain before they even get the key.

I think there is going to be a big move towards staying put and making improvements to the property you’re already in, rather than flushing money on a move. If you go up to an 800k house, you’re looking at flushing close to 50k on “nothing” seeing as the land tax is 40k on that.

1st time buyer relief thresholds were decreased in March 2025 as well so all in all, people are much more hesitant.

The problem is also people realising they just can't afford to heat and maintain large properties and gardens. Also most families have 1 or 2 children and people have realised they don't need 2 or 3 guest rooms, cinema rooms or 2 home offices.

Id love to tell this to someone who has got a house on for sale near me, paid I think £590k about 4 years ago and its now on for 700k. All they've done is knock one wall down. And interest rates are way higher. How are they expecting people to pay an increase of not only the sale price but also their mortgage, for the same house!

Thanks - yes that’s right. She did have an offer and went through nearly to completion (she signed the contract and they didn’t). They wanted nearly £100k off the asking price at the last minute, which would’ve made the house my mum wanted to buy unaffordable. They also demanded a decision on the day, and when mum said she needed to think about it, they pulled out. Brutal!

hope you have a far better experience, and just remember it’s not “you” xxx

I hear you OP. It started to slow down noticeably when the stamp duty returned to normal, then slowed down again with CoL, then another bump with loss of jobs with even large businesses folding etc (Homebase had stores everywhere, bank branches shutting, NHS England, the company that supplied kitchen units nationally etc) and now finally Iran. It's too much for the market atm and unfortunately I can't see it improving until job stability is better.

I've just gone on the market because I have to but I have been watching since the stamp duty changed. It is dire out there.

If saw a house with 8 cars parked outside I'd assume its a HMO

It isn't automatic that a larger house is "worth" more. Price is determined by the market.

At the moment the generation with the most money (as a general rule, obviously individual cases vary) is now wanting to downsize... so bungalows etc are very expensive because there is a competitive market for those properties, whilst family homes will get the price that families can afford.

Asking to drop the price like that at the last minute is awful behaviour and shouldn't be allowed.

However, if I see a property for sale for that long, its one of a few things. Its over priced. Its got something wrong with it. The seller doesn't really want to sell.

She needs to reduce the price if she wants to sell. Go on with a new agent, new photos etc and new right move listing. Because also if a property has been on for ages, the offers are going to be low.

If the house is only worth 375 in the current climate then i can accept that but when im looking at 3 beds no garage, tiny interiors for over 300 then no i wont sell, the market has to even out along all types of homes, my EA just put up a reel with a new build, no garage, a living room small, master can only fit a double bed and 1 wardrobe asking 300, someone has commented that its outrageous price for such a house.

So when you see a house in its own plot, you think hmo 🤣

Ask them why its priced like that. It could be vendors who wont budge. But wont be able to sell either!

There is a slow market for larger homes for many reasons, and where I live they often take a year or more to sell. They need to be luxury finish to attract the increasingly shrinking monied market (afraid this sector is the one where people HAVE chosen to go overseas or return to native European countries since Brexit and now Labour, in my area at least as it is London/city commuter belt). There are simply not as many buyers with £1m+ willing to buy in a market where appreciation has stalled and, in fact, houses have lost 5-10% in value in the last year.

Buyers also mainly seem to want bungalows/projects in the belief that they will make money that way, even though planning to live in it afterwards. This is very much mistaken these days - as 3 of my immediate neighbours have discovered in the last 2 years. They are now sitting in unfinished, shabby properties that were supposed to be done within 6m to a luxury spec but, a year on, don’t have kitchens and roofs etc are patched - the costs spiralled, Hormez and the oil situation has meant goods and material costs have doubled and delivery has been delayed and added further to that financially. They have all run out of money and will be living in chaos for several years as cannot increase their mortgages to complete. Their properties have not appreciated in value in line with how much they have already spent, so the bank will not lend them any more as they are already barely finished. In the one case the long term lack of kitchen means their current mortgage is at risk and they are scrabbling around trying to build something makeshift to satisfy the small print in their mortgage agreement (which states that the property must be ‘habitable’ ie have a kitchen and bathroom). They have a 12 year old camping out in this mess. As recent reports on the property flipping market state, that bubble has burst.

Not sure what the answer is - we have a large house, beautifully finished and only really suitable for a large (possibly multi generational) family with WFH space but there is noone in the market to buy so we will keep it for at least another 5 years. We did have 4 kids/teens in it for years (2 long term foster and my own two) , plus space for aging relatives, so it was ideal for us - but the ageing rellies are now to old to travel and stay and need to be near their doctors/clinics, and the kids are all at or about to go to uni. Will just be me and the dogs stuck here while DH works towards retirement. Wandering around a huge, lovely house that we may never be able to sell for a reasonable price.

I know. Unfortunately there’s nothing to say you can’t take that aggressive approach as a buyer!

the property was off the market for 6 months while the failed-buyers did all the checks etc, wasted everyone’s time and money. I think mums put it back on for less now. There was a buyer interested before we got that offer, but she’s still waiting to sell her house which has been on the market a year.

maybe everyone should just do a house swap! 😅😅

Thats been going on for yrs, 1 buyer tried to pull that stunt on me yrs ago, told them to jog on, if they have to drop it by 100k they didnt have the money for it in the first place. Always get grifters. Sold it a few months later no issues at all. Another game they like to play is the survey showed something off but they wont show their survey, bye buster, dont even mess around just bye dont waste your time. If there is a genuine problem highlighted in the survey send it over to our solicitor and then negoiate but 100k is taking the p!ss.

Yeah i get it COL etc has had a massive impact, glad we have a backup plan if it didnt sell, if you have to due to finances its soul destroying, yrs of work down the pan.

It seems that MN has been complaining for years about boomers 'hoarding' the big houses. Now boomers are thinking of selling, the next generation are saying 'nah, changed my mind"
You can't win!

Um they’re not saying ‘nah changed my mind’ they’re saying ‘I can’t afford 3/4 of a million pounds for my house’.

Oh dear - sounds like the interested buyer needs to be more realistic then!

I've often though that too haha!

No she said if she saw house with 8 cars parked outside.

That's not the sort of figure that OP was talking about.