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?

I think the price is fine, OP. It’s Blackheath which is a pricey area.

Your feedback has been very minimal. I imagine that some viewers are thinking something like “Is it really worth making a huge financial commitment for this nice house in a no man’s land bit of south east London quite far from Blackheath station when I can buy a similar house round here a bit cheaper?”

I also note you haven’t commented on comments that ‘offers over’ puts people off. Truth be told that, as you seem quite desperate to sell, and because of the current state of the market and with your competition in your area for similar houses, you just can’t afford to confuse or piss off potential buyers who couldn’t care less what you ‘need’ to sell at first your onward purchase.

The tiny kitchen as opposed to the massive dining room would put me off. I would want the same as Cypress said, the kitchen area turned into a utility and the kitchen moved into the dining room.
But as always, it'll be the price.

“Is it really worth making a huge financial commitment for this nice house in a no man’s land bit of south east London quite far from Blackheath station when I can buy a similar house round here a bit cheaper?”

OP, I viewed a beautiful flat in Wricklemarsh Rd and this is what it came down to for me. It was too isolated a location for me as a single adult - the main market for that area is likely to be people with younger children as I understand the schools are good, so it might be worth considering how you can market it more to that audience.

Having looked at other houses in the area on line to compare I don't think you've overpriced it. It's a beautiful house and well maintained. If I was looking to move to the area and needed a home I would be interested. My only issue would be the size of the 3rd bedroom, it's quite small but would be useful as an office. I genuinely don't know why you aren't getting offers. Hopefully you will get a buyer soon.

I find threads like these so frustrating. Even if OP does successfully manage to get a buyer, no mortgage valuer is going to be charmed by the thoughtful vignette of a cot in the box room or a pair of bay trees outside. They will run the numbers through their cold hard algorithm and they will only agree to lend what they believe the house to be worth in a very challenging market, and it won't be over £650k.

Most people buying a £650k house don't need a £650k mortgage.

I agree with PPs, why offers over? I'd have no idea what to do, so unless I was desperately in love with your house, or desperate get one of the only suitable properties available in the area, I'd move on and not bother.

KERB APPEAL... It has no kerb appeal whatsoever. Looks like a headache before you even get inside the house. So you need to pressure wash that paving until it shines and then add a bit of something eye catching that suggests a peaceful existence eg 2 bay trees in circular planters outside the front door to represent good karma for those within.
Also get some edging planters to give a burst of vibrant colour in a natural way.
As its such a long wait these should be evergreens eg dwarf rhodedendrons that flower in spring or hydrangea that have lasting blooms in summer.
Plant a tree thats manageable if you can stretch that far somewhere near the front boundary.
Also no separate shower and not much bedroom storage.
It does suggest a tired lifestyle but it is what it is!
Ive also heard it pays to brew a pot of coffee and leave it to let the aroma seep into the buyers consciousness.
And heat some partially baked bread rolls !
Apparantly this suggests a warm and cosy family vibe.

Well, being someone who suggested the cot thing, I also suggested dropping the price.

I don't disagree with you, but getting a buyer and getting a mortgage are different games.

We put our absolute all into decluttering and presenting our house for sale (jet washing drive, potted plants, repainting, the works), but we're surprised how little the 'gloss' affected the price.

But the thing is, a bank might not see the gloss, but they're also unlikely to have more than a drive by valuation to confirm the building exists.

Our house is done to a nice standard, whilst next door was a rental. They look the same outside, but the finish in ours is better throughout. The bank will look to see if we're significantly outside of the range of sold properties in the area, they're not inspecting the trims in the kitchen.

Exactly. People don't seem to understand that a couple of bay trees, a new letterbox or a cot in a room will actually make a difference.

Well I think it looks lovely - your internal decor is gorgeous. The garden could look a bit nicer, but FGS, can't people see past that?...and make it their own after purchase? Not sure why you're not getting interest OP. Must be the market. Good luck!

I agree. It's the price.

I agree re location. I don't think Blackheath. It's Hornfair/Shooters Hill. Walking distance to the lido though.

If you have had a few second viewings which you have, and no offers I would really want to drill into why that is with your agent.
The feedback from second viewers is essential.
I wonder if your agent hasn’t got someone in mind to sell it to. A developer etc.

Always remember that estate agents essentially work for themselves.

I might be able to add a perspective. Last year I was looking roughly in this bracket. In the end, I went for a 500k house that needed work as if I’d bought at 650 it would have had to have been perfect ie need no change.

I think yours is styled weirdly as it actually doesn’t need any further expenditure on it yet it is styled as a doer upper. Stuff like the bedroom with the tv in and the giant desk. It’s not middle class enough. Get a more organic looking bedcover, add some books to the bedside table, hide the monitors and cover desk with trendy gardening books. Likewise, Ottolenghi book in the kitchen and an expensive candle and some upmarket mess like a basil plant and some garlic on the side. I’m not joking! Basically people want to know they can live in the now in it without updating.

Also, everyone is anxious. I suppose people think it will come down further.

eta: people move to Blackheath to
be creative middle class middle aged bohos and you need to add a bit of that vibe to the house imo.

A change of bedcover and different reading matter on the shelves will not sell this house.

I disagree. Also OP make it look like the children have a nice time living there eg something of theirs in the garden or downstairs. People can see the price and they’re coming round — but then they’re deciding this isn’t our vibe / we’re not these people. Most people are quite unimaginative about leaving their stamp on things.

It does look very neglected outside compared to inside. Even next door, which is essentially presented in the same way, looks nicer.

I think fixing the things that doing outside will be more daunting (and more expensive) for buyers than the prospect of changing interior decor.

As a minimum it needs everything outside jet washing and if the exterior rough cast isn't repainted, it at least needs washing. Then the patio needs "dressing" as a room, with similar care to you've taken with the interior.

From experience, painting the exterior is a really big job. That stuff soaks up paint and progress is very slow.

But, also it will be the price and the offers over thing. I wouldn't know of you were wanting £655k or £750k and am not inclined to make myself look stupid for an "OK" house.

The interior is lovely! The frontage doesn't match the inside, as it looks kind of shabby. We sold a similar sized house in South Wimbledon a few years ago, and had set up the third bedroom as an office. Viewers would just put their head round the door and ignore it. So we took out the sofa bed and put in a small single, and voila - suddenly viewers could see it as a bedroom! It was the same size etc., but for some reason they couldn't imagine it as a bedroom until we dressed it as such.

Or they're looking at it and thinking it's too expensive for what it is and where it is.
Perhaps whether the residents children are "having a good time" isn't necessarily a priority.

If they thought that they wouldn’t go round in the first place.

Ok, so they're going round on the off chance that the vendors children have a nice time and they cook Ottolenghi recipes?
Ok
Good luck, OP 🤞

It’s a beautiful home, but I wouldn’t buy it, especially not for that price. If I was looking for a new home the things that would put me off this one are the odd/very narrow kitchen layout. I love a big open kitchen. Also the garden is fairly small, as well as it only being 3 bedrooms. Neither of those would be complete deal breakers for me, but at that price they would be. Also, as gorgeous as the house is on the inside, for me there’s no kerb appeal at all.
i know house prices vary drastically by area but for that price where I am (Aberdeen) I could have a huge 5 or 6 bedroom home with 2 bathrooms, a utility room, dining room and large garden.