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Ditch estate agent? Or am I being impatient

11 replies

Alacazoo · Yesterday 22:49

We put our 3 bed detached up for sale in February with a local agent. Had 5 or 6 viewings over the following month, no offers and feedback was that house is immaculate but there are negative things we can't change - 3rd bedroom too small, drive too narrow etc. In April the viewings tailed off to none so we decided to switch to another agent and simultaneously reduce price by £25k hoping this combination would get things moving.

The house has been up for sale with the new agent for almost 4 weeks now and despite the reduced asking price they have not arranged ANY viewings. When questioned they just say it's a slow market, buyers are price sensitive, maybe we should reduce again. Despite their great reputation we have found communication poor so far - I had to chase up the sale board and any updates are due to us contacting them.

I'm wondering if it would be impatient to get rid of this agent too and find another. But would a third agent in such a short time sound alarm bells for prospective buyers? Is no viewings in 4 weeks to be expected in this market and we should stick it out? We are in a rural market town in the south west if that makes a difference.

I'm being indecisive. Please help!

OP posts:
Whoevenknows79 · Yesterday 23:33

How does the price of your house compare to other similar ones in the area? Are other houses selling? I'd probably stay put for now, but ask them what the strategy is going forward, other than reducing the price, which you have already done.

fashionqueen0123 · Yesterday 23:34

Honestly if you’re on right move and the photos are good and the price is right it will sell.

DoubleTea · Yesterday 23:45

More likely to be the price than the agent. “It’s a slow market” and “buyers are price sensitive “ just mean the price is too high. If you are serious about selling now, you should drop it. If not, take it off the market.

Row23 · Today 06:00

I’d stay with your agent for now, but maybe ask if they’re doing any additional advertising - promoting the property on their social media pages etc.
If your house is on their website and places like Rightmove or Zoopla then you may need to look at reducing the price again if you’re wanting to move soon. If you aren’t in a rush to move then you can wait for the market to pick up. It’s not a great time to be trying to sell, in alot of places the market has become fairly stagnant. If interest rates go down then we should start to see houses selling again 🤞

Icanseeasquirrel · Today 06:12

Your agent is pretty irrelevant as long as they are basically competent until you get an offer and then a good sales progresser can be important.
You exhausted the pool of potential buyers in the first few weeks. They will have chosen somewhere else or be waiting for someone to drop price.
Have you done the thing where you pretend to be a buyer of your sort of house then have a look at what you can get for your money? If yours is still the best for the money you might get lucky eventually. Otherwise it’s a matter of deciding if you have to move and then you reduce the price and become one of the picky buyers for the next one.

GreatOffWhiteFalcon · Today 07:43

I don't think that most buyers even notice the name of the agent so changing again isn't a problem. The price is the big factor and if you are willing to drop again, you could do it with the current agent, then change afterwards if still no interest. It is just a very slow market.

oliviaAustin · Today 07:53

GreatOffWhiteFalcon · Today 07:43

I don't think that most buyers even notice the name of the agent so changing again isn't a problem. The price is the big factor and if you are willing to drop again, you could do it with the current agent, then change afterwards if still no interest. It is just a very slow market.

No but EAs are meant to have lists of potential buyers that they contact and offer viewings to. They don’t just rely on right move

Nanny1983 · Today 07:59

Get someone to ring up and enquire about houses in your area and see if they are pushing yours . If not you have an agent problem.

Could you advertise on social media yourself, maybe join a few local groups on FB and see if there's any interest in houses in your area.

DrySherry · Today 08:01

Prices are now falling, if you really want to move house you need to catch up with the changes in values. Your agent is telling you this as softly as they can.
It likley, according to the news, that the next change in interest rates will be an increase not a decrease - so that will set back prices further. This is great news if your up sizing. It might be worth withdrawing and letting the falls work through ?

GreatOffWhiteFalcon · Today 08:06

oliviaAustin · Today 07:53

No but EAs are meant to have lists of potential buyers that they contact and offer viewings to. They don’t just rely on right move

Well, in theory, but as PP said, the most likely keen buyers might already have seen it with the first agent, and it will take a while to build up a list of newly interested buyers for a particular house with the market so slow.
I am just putting my house on the market and chose an agent who mostly operates in nearby more expensive area and does a lot of advertising, thinking that locals would see it on rightmove or see the board anyway, so this might bring in more viewings . But I am not holding my breath and expect to have to drop the price a fair amount in order to sell.

rainingsnoring · Today 10:12

If you have barely had any viewings in the last 2-3 months and none in the last month, it's very likely that you need to reduce again.
What percentage reduction was the 25k reduction? It might be too small a percentage to make a difference.

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