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?

Don't guess. Ask. Get the EA to be very specific when they note the feedback.

You need scaffolding for that height and to render/ paint it properly.

It's not about dressing the house.

It's either the location, the layout of the kitchen, the street, the area around it, etc. And the price.

This was the plan - DD is growing up and we were planning to extend into the loft, which would add a bathroom and sort out the bedroom/ reception room imbalance, but we need to relocate due to external factors. I’m so gutted the timing is shit, I love the area and it’s a wrench to leave anyways let alone such a drawn out process

OFFERS IN EXCESS OF

Get rid!

You are deterring buyers. Set the price you want. Is that £1 over the listed price? £20K over?

I think the 'offers in excess' is one of the stupidest marketing ploys ever.

Set a figure and say open to offers if you're serious about moving.

In your own minds decide what you will accept- maybe £600K or somewhere between that and £650K.

How many viewings over how many months?

And see my post ^^ not in excess of.

If you want more than £650K, set that as your asking price.

Not read every post so lots of things I’ll mention I’m sure are repeats sorry! I noticed the carpet upstairs looked grubby, could that be cleaned or replaced relatively cheaply if you’ve already good underlay? Wouldn’t say that’s necessarily worth doing tho, ask agent for their opinion. Banister looks dated but not sure how much of a faff and expense that would be to replace. Galley kitchen would put me off so if it’s decent quality get them to take some more photos of it closer up too. Front of house looks neglected, and dull, would power wash and paint where possibly to refresh. Gate needs replacing or taking down completely as makes the house look old fashioned. Make sure any weeds are pulled at the back, repaint the fence either cream or anthracite to modernise and then get some plant pots that you like, plain ones ideally, modern looking, and add some colourful flowers. Get ones you like so you can take them with you. Give the grass a really good mow and position furniture or garden items well. Get new photos taken once all that is done. Is the agent doing the viewings? Ideally get a friend to book onto one to see how well they are “selling” the house in person, are they mentioning all the good points for example like school catchment, bus routes etc to tackle any potential criticisms head on. Sometimes people won’t ask questions, they need to be told.

Gorgeous house, it’s gone straight into my inspiration folder. It’s extending into the loft and has the garden room, so maybe £200k more spent on it, but the road is closer to the heath and therefore a lot posher than ours, so it’s seems priced about right

It's not really Blackheath, its Kidbrooke isn't it?

I live a couple of miles away from you, and we bought in 2018, and prices have stagnated similarly.

There is also the slightly odd phenomenon, at least in SE London, where a 2 bed costs half that, meaning the extra bedroom doubles the price. We are in a small 2 bed and unable to 'upgrade' as it were due to house price and wage stagnation. So where do you think your pool of sellers is coming from?

Depends. Sometimes it works. We made 20k more than expected due to that little phrase. Has to be priced right initially of course though ^^

Price. I know your market a bit, having grown up one postcode over; my parents still live there, in a house with a similar floor plan to yours. Their house would not go on the market for anything close to what you are asking, despite much better secondaries nearby and the railway station being a short walk away.

No need to re-render. She’s trying to sell, not upgrade for living. You only titivate anything that adds value, not get everything perfect. With ladders that front wall can be painted.

I agree with jetwashing the patios and updating the front. The interior decor/styling is nice.

I also think you need to sort out the order of the photos and remove some. Why have two of the galley kitchen? Can you photo it so it looks more part of the extension? Also you only need one of the front. I would put all the downstairs ones first and then the upstairs ones.

And if there is space for a loft conversion (not all houses can be converted), maybe put in the blurb.

I can’t be bothered to read all the posts but does this op ever move from the position stated in Op that doesn’t think its price even though it quote obviously is

Price for the layout/size. Great decor and condition inside. Outside lacks curb appeal.

it’s really a 2.5 bed. 650k may be good in the area (no idea) but let’s assume most people these days will do a couple of days working from home if they’re in your area and buying a house that price. The box bedroom becomes an office so this then becomes a 2 bed. Its like a family home but without the bedrooms to then house a family.

the kitchen is also really bizarrely laid out. It’s like a huge dining room which doesn’t really connect with this long galley kitchen that has a weird extending cupboard but no other connection into the space. I would want to totally reconfigure that space and put the kitchen into the giant dining room area to make that the main living space.

Based on the above comments I simply wouldn’t pay that for it.

Are other properties on your road extended so a precedent set? How much have the extended properties been sold for? The price difference between yours and the cost to get it there - does that financially make sense tk people? If someone extended it and relocated kitchen, would say 250k be recouped at revaluation price? If not you can’t sell it with ‘potential’ as the price point prices it beyond what it is today which is 2 bed with a weird shaped kitchen.

I would be tempted to make the front living room into a bedroom and the small bedroom into an office/snug. You've extended downstairs so you still have a massive living area. You are then selling it as a 3/4 bed home rather than a 2/3 bed home.

Agree the front needs kerb appeal, washing driveway, plants in pots and repaint the gate.

Also your computer setup in the bedroom is simply highlight the lack of liveable space upstairs.

Good luck with selling.
I hate open plan living with only one separate living room! They are always cold. And I have never given my staircase a moments thought!
I live a small village which obviously isn’t the same but as I try not to use my car I like having a bus stop outside my front door!
No one hangs around they prefer the local shop.
I also hate the patio windows that open across the whole back of the house and lanterns sky. So that first house someone linked is horrible.
The houses around me that are 4 bedrooms are still 3 bedrooms and a box room!

As everyone has mentioned, you've done a great job dressing up the inside. It looks gorgeous and just what many are looking gor.

But in that price bracket, one also wants curb appeal and that just isn't there with this house. You're paying a luxury price for a house that it will be hard to ever make look luxury from outside .

You won't get anyone to paint that high on ladders.

Unless you mean she does it herself.

And it's not relevant anyway; there are plenty of viewings just no offers.

Well I think it's lovely and think the price is really good for a house in/near Blackheath. I'd buy it if I could! I don't get all the comments about replacing the carpet or repainting walls - people are likely to do that to suit their taste anyway so I can't see why you would need to. My house was in an absolutely shocking state when I bought it, and has a boxroom that size that was a 20 yr old's bedroom, so it's perfectly possible to work as a 3-bed. I think it's just a reflection of the current buyers market, but maybe you could ditch the 'offers over' and drop it slightly below £650.

But many many people who have actually seen it, looked around, have the budget and are looking in the area - haven’t even put in a cheeky offer

Sorry I've not read the full thread. I'm really confused with the layout. On photo 16 where the photo is taken from the dining area looking into the reception room, why is there a window in that reception room? The floor plan shows that there is another reception room the other side so I can't work out how there's an outside window in that room! I'm currently looking to move and I obsessively look at floor plans so I just can't work this out and that would put me off a bit.

HRTFT but like others, I think the front needs some kerb appeal. Other than that, the only things I don’t like are the gold handles on the kitchen cupboards. I’d happily live there….apart from not being able to afford it and it being too far from where I work!

The kitchen layout isn't great. An island would have worked better.

Completely agree with this. Viewers will be pricing up the cost of a rear extension and it will be too much on top of the asking price.

This will sound awful but the only houses I’ve seen those kind of banisters in are current or ex- council houses which may be jarring for people who want to own a nice house in Blackheath.