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?

What about appealing to people who don't want a baby, or have older children?.
It can fit a single bed. That's far more of a flexible space than a nursery!

Agree with this - much better marketing

I haven’t read all replies but it says it’s 2 bathrooms but I only see one and a downstairs loo

Not much help to you OP in terms of what's within your control but galley kitchen would be an instant no from me regardless of you putting in a new fence or potted plants in the front as others have suggested. If I'm viewing a property I'm disregarding the things I can change easily myself like fencing or plants, I'm more interested in the layout. It could be a deal breaker for others too which may help give you some context as to why it's not selling. Granted it's not important to everyone but lots of people, myself included, prefer a more open kitchen. I see cooking as quite a social/family activity so it's too closed off for me personally.

tidy front and back gardens, agree with pp about kerb appeal, try to add a bit more colour - cushions / flowers should do it. The third bedroom is too small and for the price I'd expect 3 good size bedrooms, could one of the reception rooms be listed as potential for a 4th bedroom or something.

Reduce the price.

I know others have said it but for me, the size of the third bedroom would be a deal breaker. It is smaller than a lot of 3rd bedrooms in that traditional 30s 3 bed semi style house and wouldn’t be big enough to be used properly as a bedroom, I would consider more an office sized room.

It’s nearly always three things 1) price 2) kerb appeal 3) bedrooms

you’re price is ok for your area. But you don’t have the kerb appeal you need, that’s front and back. People need it looking pretty and well maintained but make it obvious it’s also very low maintenance. If you can’t garden just get a gardener in to sort those things, worth it if it sells your house.

And finally bedrooms buyers need it spelt out to them so if a room fits a single bed wardrobe desk put all of that in, they need to know a bed definitely fits. Or if it’s small but actually fits a double put one in, not in your case.

Don’t waste your time decorating the buyer will change that anyway plus can look like you are covering things up like damp.

your house is lovely btw.

The point is that the OP's house is around £200/square foot cheaper (and I've omitted the limited use area, garage, and outbuilding from the second house's square footage). Considering that the second is very renovated and expanded, I would expect a bigger differential. I don't know the neighbourhood well enough to say if the streets and/or distance to public transport are comparable.

And I like the OP's house. I'm just saying, I think it's a bit overpriced

The garden furniture looks tired doesn't help the garden photos. Maybe move it to storage and power wash the patio?

My biggest gripe would be the 3rd bedroom is tiny -many people looking for 3 bed houses will have a purpose for wanting 3 beds

• parents and 2 kids who want their own room each
• parents and one kid that also want a spare room/study etc
• person or people without kids who want a spare room and a study/workroom etc

Immediately they see your house they will know they can't give each kid a decent similar sized room, or can't have a study or spare room for 2 and give the kid a decent sized room.

Yeah quite possibly but the OP is looking for things she can try and do to help. And realistically she can’t change the layout or the area

You have an agent problem, not a house problem. Look for an independent self employed local agent, something like your local EXP agent for whom selling your house means whether they make any money that month or not, not a national chain with an agent who is indifferent and says things like it's too lived in.

You will likely pay the best part of £7-9k to this national chain if they actually managed to sell your house. The very least you deserve and should expect is detailed feedback from each viewing and updates from every second viewing. If agents cannot close offers from second viewings they are not doing their job, whether that is in terms of qualifying buyers or actually selling.

I think the PP meant whack it through AI to get ideas, rather than to create photos for buyers

Your house is lovely :) If you have no problem getting prospective buyers through the door to view then there isn’t actually any issue with the listing or photos. It will be the property itself and likely something you’re unable to change. Your house is almost exactly the same floor plan and size as the house we sold last year and we had no issue getting viewers but it took a while to get buyers. The feedback we consistently received was that the 3rd bedroom was way smaller in person than in the photos and when people saw the house up close it was obvious it was more “run down” than it appeared in the photos. We did eventually find the right people - a couple who didn’t need the 3rd bedroom but loved the area and the size of the garden (something yours has going for it also). I hope you have better luck soon.

If you look at the sale history on your road, your neighbours are selling for much less for the same type of house. Minus one that went for £700k+. The galley kitchen probably doesn’t help and it could also just generally be the current economic climate of the country. New PM (again), uncertainty re policy and belt tightening everywhere mostly.

tbh ALL of the photos look better in the 2018 listing.

You asked for harsh OP, here it is: you bought a lovely, well presented house with good kerb appeal and outside space to the rear - and you've downgraded it, it looked better when you bought it than it does now.

Try to bring it back up to the standard of those photos (inside & out) and then you've a chance of getting a sale.

As is - your house is TIRED 😴

It says Blackheath which is still pretty desirable but your address is in Kidbrooke, which has always been less desirable and that’s a lot of money in the current climate. You can get similar size houses in Plumstead which is now just as well connected for £500kish so I think it’s price and that the address/location is less desirable than it was because new transport links mean cheaper adjacent areas are just as convenient.

Layout and internal pictures look generally ok but things that would stop me viewing are:

1. carpets look dirty in the pictures. I can see the areas of grey/wear
2. garden looks unloved, and the aspect doesn’t compliment the space. It makes it look long and difficult to look after rather than spacious
3. no kerb appeal - very sterile from the outside and the driveway needs a clean
4. the box room looks super cramped

None of these things are huge issues and your house is generally really nicely kept but if I was being picky and scrolling through loads of options, this is what stands out.

I'm itching to pressure wash the front driveway and rear patio. Big plants in the front my friend went for artificial olive trees in big pots weighted down. They look lovely. I think she got them from BM, the range or bq. They made such a difference.

I couldn't cope with a galley kitchen DH tuts if anyone enters the space when he's cooking

. Get the bedroom carpet cleaned properly. It looks really yucky.

Otherwise it's a good airy home.

OP is free to ignore my advice, as are you.

Numerous people have said that the third bedroom size is a problem, and the raw maths is on their side.

Presenting it as a nursery captures the imagination of some buyers. I loved seeing cute nursery bedrooms as a viewer.

You don't have to appeal to every single buyer, but anyone with eyes in their head can see that's a tiny room.

They were dead as it was a probate sale. It was overpriced to start with for sure but hugely underpriced in the end.

Have you viewed any houses with your agent? It sounds obvious, but lots of people don’t, and not all agents are equal. Your house has some great selling points, but not every agent will mention them.
I can see that your property is fairly priced compared to others in the area, which is what your agent will be basing their valuation on, but the big question, is whether those others houses are actually selling, and if so, at what price are they agreeing on. There is a glut of three bedroom properties on the market, in many areas, due to the new tenancy laws. Landlords are spooked and are selling.
As for the small third bedroom, a decent agent will be alert to this being a potential problem, and will have a solution ready. Moving a wall. Attic extension. Perfect office space/ nursery. Rear extension. Lots of options, with (and this is the important bit) “precedent” in your area/ road.

Interior is nice but garden and front are dreary. It’s that architectural era which has very little character and I think many people aren’t keen on it.

It’s always down to price - if it’s not selling, it’s because people don’t think it’s worth the price. The bit about ‘with inflation’ means nothing. I think you can’t overly attach exact numbers to the area criteria and then expect that price exactly. Drop the price significantly (I don’t just mean 20k) and see if you get more interest. I think the photos of inside look very good and I like the neutral decor. I would not be put off by the lack of landscaped garden either because you can make it as you like. I would want to overhaul the front though and re render the beige. Good luck!

You would have sold it relatively easy in a better market. The only negative i see it is a bit off Blackheath "proper" to my eye but then it is a bit cheaper than Blackheath houses. Are you getting viewings at all?