No offers after months on the market, are we house blind?

[Dandelionkiller]

Been on the market for a few months now, loads of viewings but no offers! I honestly can’t see the problem and I’m worried I’m house blind at this point.

this is the listing: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88856211

i honestly don’t think it’s the price. There are unextended, unrenovated houses on for £20k less the next road over.

it’s also a fair price - we paid 550k in 2017, based on inflation it would be 750k now but that just isn’t supported by the area.

weve done lots to maintain it in that time - new boiler, washing machine, dishwasher, fridge. We replaced the laminate floors downstairs with wood. We changed the purple vinyl bathrooms to nice tile. It was meant to be our forever home so none of this was to make a profit.

bits I know are of; we’re a bus ride away from a train station, but I think this is reflected in the price. The carpets upstairs need to be replaced - this was the case when we moved in but we kept putting it off as we were planning a loft conversion.

tbe feedback has been perplexing - one viewer said we’d made the house too traditional and they would have to redo the kitchen / bathrooms to modernise, but I think they are pretty neutral?

what can I do? Is the market just a bit rubbish at the moment?

Thank you! The leather sofa is from West elm, the sectional is just Ikea but is comfy and has a sleeper section and washable covers, I’d recommend both

Of course it is...and it sounds like you'd hate mine!

But, imo - and we've sold seven houses and one flat over the years, never needing more than ten viewings to find a buyer (a few times we've sold to the first person/in less than a week) and some of them have had all manner of negatives (bus stop, main road, ugly exterior, falling market) - a property needs to be memorable in some way in order to sell.

This is particularly true in a stagnant/falling market. The OP's house is fairly bland and has neither kerb appeal, nor an amazing first impression internally, nor a stunning kitchen or garden....

It's just going to get lost in a sea of other similar houses. Then there's the bus stop outside.

To attract a buyer in this scenario, a house that doesn't have the x-factor needs to be priced attractively.

I take back what I said about painting the smaller roofs after another look at the listing. The larger roof may come up nice and closer to their colour if power washed, unless the other red tiles are just newer ones and the roof is originally brown. I'd also put some solar lighting along the fence line or some fairy lights around the garden once the panels have been painted.

I've spent 5 minutes searching Right Move for your road for SOLD houses and there is no such place as listed by the agents.

It's not Blackheath it's Kidbrooke, Greenwich

Is this a factor?

This. With all that space I think most people would like more space in the kitchen area. Minor detail but is there no door from kitchen to hall? Cooking smells drifting throughout the house would put lots of people off.

I've asked OP how her house compares to sold and advertised properties in the area, but looks like it's too much work for her to answer.

I think the house three doors down is getting a loft conversion but that shouldn’t put viewers off, hopefully, it doesn’t have a party wall with us or anything

That’s just a loft conversion happening a few doors down

I think it's the galley kitchen.

Did you do the extension?

The kitchen should be where the dining table is. The kitchen at the moment looks like a hallway. Far too narrow and not really for anyone who likes cooking.

So anyone buying it would want to move the kitchen into the area you're using as a dining room.

The dining table looks lost in that space.

Sorry, but it's this that is the downside.

I don't think buyers care about carpets, fences, lack of plants. They can be changed easily but the basic layout would cost a bit- new kitchen or moving the current cupboards.

It's your kitchen.

See my post above.

This is commonly done in that area. However this is pretty conclusively in kidbrook rather than Blackheath.

People searching for Blackheath properties may be more aspirational/have more money to spend and therefore may overlook OP’s house for lack of wow factor. People looking in Kidbrooke are likely to be more realistic and price-sensitive.

the actual area the house is in definitely feels more Kidbrooke — it’s not the chichi upmarket feel of Blackheath village.

the house does have the Blackheath postcode though.

Well no, it won’t have a party wall.

Will it overlook any of your property at all ?

The galley kitchen would be a dealbreaker for me. It looks like the kitchen has been stuck in a small corridor to get to the large dining area.

Gas could have been moved if you put that kitchen in yourselves. Our kitchen didn't even have gas but I wanted a gas hob when we did our kitchen so got it brought in from the garage where our boiler was.

People like large open kitchens for family living these days, and galley kitchens don't work for couples who like to cook together either.

So I wouldn't buy the house on that basis. It's nice otherwise though. The garden is a little bleak and the pavers could do with a powerwash but that wouldn't put me off buying it if I loved the house though.

Apologies I haven't read every post but the house is very nice. Even the small bedroom, yes impractical if you need 3 bedrooms but it's clearly got a bed in it and is well styled. The living room and bathroom are good. Remove the orange mat for viewings, and anything from the bathroom sides (looks fine in the pics). Also can't tell if your carpets are ok or not but get them cleaned or get a new cheap one if any are in bad shape.

Why isn't your downstairs loo pictured? I can see it on the plan and people will value this.

Don't bother with interior repainting unless it is bad in person. Get a touch up pot for any chips or scuffs (use a watered down version of the paint with a sponge. Works a treat).

The garden and front could use some work. Agree with other posters on jet washing. The fence is bad. The grass looks scruffy and an unloved and derelict space. It would put me off. Hide the worn outdoor table and chairs and move the sofa completely to the left to open it up more. Style with a throw and nice cushions for pictures. May need some spending on a better fence and on smartening it up so consider if it would be better to lower your asking price instead..Unsure if brown paint on the existing fence would do it. Potted plants are your friend here. Cover the front and back in flowers.

Good luck!

I like everything internally, the garden doesn’t offend me, I was scrolling and initially thinking why isn’t this selling…and then I got to the front and immediately knew.

For me it’s 100% the front.

The house inside is lovely, homely, the kitchen layout doesn’t bother me but the outside front is awful.

You could positively change that very quickly, but I can’t believe you look at it and haven’t realised this when you’ve obviously put lots of care and attention on the inside.

Looks like we have very different views on what constitutes hard work, just download one of the basic apps and sit in a chair looking at Rightmove?

https://www.propertylog.net/

There are much more complex apps that posters often talk about that show all kinds of area stats, but I am also assuming that someone about to buy a house is prepared to do a minimal amount of work to research the house, area etc. before they make offers?

I don’t think it is the front or the interior. They are getting lots of viewings.

So either the agent is not selling well it once at the house, or the pictures make it look a lot larger than it is, or there is something not entirely apparent until they get there. Hence my comments about the scaffolding.

In the kitchen, whoever is using the cooker, has their back to the opposite wall, and it looks very cramped. The light only comes in from the garden end. There is no door between the front door and where your kitchen begins.
It's a bad layout.

I think that in reality the kitchen is cramped and dark.

But that ought to be fed back to the agent.

The "side lights" (wall lights) in the bathroom aren't dated! Layered lighting is very much on trend.

Also, they're not going to put someone off a house purchase.... ditto an orange bath mat!

Looking at the houses "similar to this property", yours if the nicest by far @Dandelionkiller

I'd want to put a wall at the point where your kitchen starts from the hallway. And move the cooker etc to another wall in the dining area, along with the sink etc.

Can you not move it into one of the reception rooms temporarily, seeing as you have so much downstairs space? The issue with having a deck in your bedroom is it immediately looks like you don't have enough space in your house, and you're having to shoehorn things into places. Whether that's true or not, it's the perception.
But as you have two receptions, you can position one as a TV/relaxing room, and the other a work space. It would make much better use the space.

Misses point of thread entirely......OP I love your kitchen, bigger than mine in an otherwise (not extended) identical house. I really like your decor. I had the box room for years, it actually works better as an office now. I think the outside lets down the inside. Hope you manage to sell, I would buy it!