House not getting interest

[sausagetheorangecat]

Friend’s house for sale, she’s said she’s had 8 viewers in 2-3 weeks but no interest at all. ‘Nice but not for us’ generally being said.
any advice/opinions why?
price is correct as per area (affluent) and from different estate agents.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89691198#/?channel=RES_BUY

I don’t either

😊 some people on here would freak out, but when my son was a teenager he slept in the box room! Turned out fine...

Why would anyone buy a two and a half bed semi for £400j when you can get a three bed semi in the same area for way less than that price?

I don't understand the numerous posts saying "it's only got two bedrooms" or "it's at best two-and-a-half bedrooms" or "the third bedroom is really small".

Yes the third bedroom is not big – but surely that's pretty standard for a third bedroom in a 3-bed semi? It is where I live anyway. In fact our old 3-bed semi had a third bed that was about 7ft x 7ft – this one is bigger.

Absolutely fine for one child and all the space for the second child in many family homes. Not all families of four live in a four-bed house.

@sausagetheorangecat it's a nice house; I don't love the decor, but the space is good and the garden is lovely. I think maybe the lack of a garage, which is perhaps more obvious when you are actually there, and the main road is what is putting ppl off. Maybe the vendors should promote the outside storage to viewers.

Suspect the lack of offers is down to price. It usually is. I don't really see how it is worth a third more than it was seven years ago, sorry.

ETA: I see others have since said similar about the third bed :)

It’s absolutely beautiful inside and back garden. Lacks a bit of curb appeal but that’s not a big deal. So that says it’s the price or she just has to wait longer. It took us 4 months to get an offer.

Do the other posters live in mansions?
I live in a house with two bedrooms, one box room and one bathroom.
If I asked on here, it would probably be described as a starter home fit only for one person or maybe a child's playhouse.
On a positive note, it is 'dahn sarf' so I could swap it for a tiny 2.5 bedroom property in lovely Heswall.

Yes, these posters must have a big budget. It's a perfectly reasonable family home - if you want more, you'll have to pay more and not everyone can.

My box room is just that. It is not big enough for a bed.

I think the lounge looks small with all the furniture in it. I would take out the chair in the bay window and coffee table. Is there outside storage as there's no garage. I don't like offers over as I always like to offer under asking price.

It’s a lovely house, beautifully presented, but quite often people in the market for a family house look from Jan-Easter so that exchange and completion can take place in August ahead of new school years? So you may have gone to market too late.

I would also wonder, and only your EA can confirm, whether there is a slow and uncertain market with the likely change in Government leadership and rumours of stamp duty being removed? People may be waiting to see what Burnham puts in place.

Ie I suspect it’s the timing and the market, not the house itself - but only the EA could confirm.

I think it's beautifully presented so it'll come down to price. Very unlikely that it has increased by a third in value since it was last sold! And the lack of interest highlights that is true.

The "before" pictures also are strangely more appealing to me - the house looks bigger and like it has more potential (despite the house being more dated). No idea why but the older images just look a lot more spacious

It's always the price.

However, I'd look at kerb appeal (the front door looks dated and low quality) and the hallway not very welcoming).

I like all the rest to be honest, lovely welcoming kitchen dinner.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/174031508#/?channel=RES_BUY

Why did you post link to this second £400k house? It’s significantly bigger in square footage, has a garage and ostensibly four bedrooms, but is the same price (possibly lower) than your friends 3 bed with no garage…

If there's a large outhouse for garden stuff and bikes etc then I think this needs including in the photos as there's no evidence of it and the description only mentions a garden shed.
I don't really agree with everyone saying there's only 2 bedrooms so it's not big enough for a family, 99% of kids I grew up with lived in semi-detached houses just like this one and my brother's who 6ft 4 had the "box room" until he left home after uni!

Whilst this one is not as well presented as yours, it is 280sq feet bigger with a second bathroom and what looks like a bigger garden? Also has a garage that looks as thought it may also have the potential for extending/converting. Also had no onward change so quick transition from offer to completion. Given it was marketed at the same price as yours, and assuming it went for that price, I would say yours is also overpriced I’m afraid?

@sausagetheorangecat - not sure why you posted a link to another house on sale for the same price. Not only does it look bigger, but it IS bigger. It still has the garage and it has a downstairs shower room instead of just a downstairs loo. Yes, it needs more TLC than your friends house, but it is a much better buy, in my opinion

Also it has a west facing garden, some nice original stained glass, and is on a quiet road rather than an A-road. Less well presented obviously, but that can be changed.

Mature trees would be a massive plus for me which just shows every potential buyer will have different preferences.

I agree - the garden and trees would be a selling point for me too.

And also, that other larger house also hasn't sold at that price.

You have no idea what anything has sold for in the last year+. Since the Iran war house prices are down a lot.

It still looks overpriced, I can see multiple houses cheaper, or on quieter roads, with garages, for the same price, and also not sold yet.

The house does look in good nick, obvious negatives for me:
On a busy looking road.
Converting the garage was a mistake, would immediately make DH skip it.

Ah im afraid this listing you just shared really illustrates your difficulty- if I had about 400k to spend, this is the one I’d choose. It’s under offer at an amount I assume under asking price. More space, loads of potential to remodel to my taste. yes it’ll cost money to modernise but once done, it’ll be a very nice house on a quiet side street on the edge of Heswall centre, & worth considerably more than 400k.

Needs 100k spending on it though.

Sorry I meant to write underneath,
put as a comparison to show the price as in what else for roughly he price. Trying to understand myself pricing x

You don’t necessarily add value by converting the garage. You may have a small amount of extra living space but where do you put things that used to go in the garage? In my case the garage is used for extra storage, diy stuff, paint, tools, fridge freezer tumble dryer etc.