Why aren’t we getting more viewings? Honest feedback welcome

[Diva78]

We’re selling our four-bedroom townhouse in Bicester and have reached the point where we’d really value some completely impartial opinions.

We originally listed at £425k, have since changed estate agents, reduced the price to £400k, changed the lead photo and updated the kitchen cupboards to give them a more neutral look.

Despite all that, we’ve still had very few viewings and hardly any interest coming directly through Rightmove.

We know townhouses and three-storey living won’t appeal to everyone, and there are larger semis and detached houses available nearby. However, our house has good square footage, three bathrooms, flexible living and home-working space, a garage, driveway parking and a quieter position on the estate.

Would anyone be willing to look at the listing and give me some honest but constructive feedback? Is it the price, layout, photos, description or something else we’re just not seeing?

50, Fontwell Road, Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX26 1BP - Estate Agents in Bicester, Oxfordshire | Barton Fleming

Thank you!

I would paint/vinyl wrap/replace the kitchen doors. The mismatched panels, kickboards and corner pieces makes it look really cheap and maybe a bit botched. Apologies.

Red curtains and cushions - I know you can change it but I wouldn't even look at other photos....and price too.

1. I hate OIEO and think its a terrible strategy £415,000 ONO would be better even though its almost the same
2. I HATE those side by side photos.. spent ages trying to figure out just why
3. I think a jetwash/dishwasher tablet and an iron brush to your back flagstones would help
4. Id remove the jaunty angled front street picture with your home in red
5. I think the amount of office furniture on display, made worse by multiple photos of the same room with computer desks in makes the house look dated cluttered and small.
6. In particular the greenish room with the desk and sofa and the telly on top of the ikea thing makes the room look small. Id move the TV so the room doesnt look like it needs rearranging anytime you want to watch it/use it as a monitor
7. Id move the dinner table so it looks less squashed in the corner

It’s a nice house, but I’m going to be really picky.

The price is too high in comparison to sold house prices in the same area.

The kitchen-diner layout would bother me.
The fridge freezer being on the other side of the room from the kitchen workspace would irritate me, I’d have to remodel the kitchen which could be costly.
Also, the dining table pushed up against the wall makes it hard to visualise how much space there is, as I’d prefer for the table to be more central and have more space around it (assuming the current setup is a result of the beautiful but giant fridge freezer?)

I’m sorry but the garden is not attractive at all. For a house marketed as a family home, I’d expect a lot less paving and more grass. The outside (front and back) just looks very soulless.

Yes, they remind me of a cheap brothel. Really not a fan of any red interiors or furnishings, even though it is something that could be changed, it just repels me for some reason.

This really is peak shit comment on a house listing thread 😂

I think it's the elephant picture in the lavatory.

Markets are slowing down. We've discovered this.
The house has no curb appeal. Can you brighten it up by borrowing or stealing 😀outdoor pots.
Inside appears very neat but cold.
Ive sold 7 houses in the past 20 years and bear in mind you sell more than a house, you are selling a lifestyle.
What does your house project. For me it's not warm or lived in.
Ps. Brownie points on your tidiness though

To me it looks fine for the price - except for that very sad and bleak-looking back garden/yard. TBH that would turn me right off. I’d invest in brightening it up with plenty of greenery - at the very least least a few big tubs of shrubs/autumn flowers, a nicer table with a pot of flowers on. Yes, I know all this is superficial, but…
Maybe a good jet wash of that horrible paving, too!

I don't like the red curtains in the lounge. The kitchen is nice though.

It's a perfectly nice house OP, though not something I'd view. I'd want a detached or at least end terrace house if buying a four bed , (currently in a semi hate it) and I'm not keen on the 1st floor sitting room. The garden is off putting as it is paved and looks quite overlooked.

It is really well presented though and enviably clutter free. The square footage is good too, I'm sure it will sell.

Same 😊

It's a lovely house OP - what would put me off I'm afraid is how overlooked it is by the neighbours and that the garden is paved over. To me that's not a proper garden. It has potential to be but I wouldn't want to put up all those paving
stones.

OP on the plus points, it looks v clean and well maintained. Buyers won't be putting an offer in and expecting something ghastly to come up on the survey.
But if you want to sell, I think you need to drop the price by about £25K and change estate agents.
We recently managed to sell my (RIP) parents house - it took 18 months and price drop (£650K to £600K) to do it. It was tough going, and very emotional - and there were some structural issues too.
After a year of stagnating on the market, we took it off the market for a week, got a new estate agent, told her our issues, and she was really good. Used a pro photographer to take fabulous pictures, gave us advice on how to dress the rooms.
She seemed to work some form of magic - opened up a whole new market up for us - it had been on the market for a year already, on Rightmove, yet she managed to get us new viewings & 2 offers in a matter of weeks.
She sold houses for a living - she really talked about the character of the house to viewers, rather than just opening the door and saying "this is the kitchen..." which I've seen so many do.

Yup. I'm sorry, but the decor is bland & a bit dated. Red curtains are very 90s, the green strip lights are studenty, & the mural is awful 🫣. Everything is functional with no warmth or style; you're selling a lifestyle. Bathrooms are again functional with no style. I wouldn't want to live in it. Sorry but I want more than clean & tidy.

It's very brave of you to share your house with a bunch of internet randoms to try and give helpful pointers, so hats off to you. I don't want to be harsh but I lived in a house just like this final year uni, yours doesn't look any better, probably worse in fact we had a much nicer garden and grass, it looks very studenty/rental not a much loved home I'd want to buy. Those bright red curtains and white walls everywhere it just doesn't appeal. The yard is very sad, obviously it is hard at this time of year to get some colour into it and make it look like a space someone would want to sit in but it doesn't help.

Looking at the recently sold nearby there are much nicer houses that have sold, so unless you want to spend time and money making it more inviting, you drop the price and someone grabs it at a cheaper price and they spend the time and money making it into a home. You already have a smaller pool of people who will buy it with it being a town house and all the negatives that come with it that you can't fix (smaller footprint, weird layout that doesn't work with children, small garden, parking issues on cramped estates, centre terrace, neighbours in v close proximity) so it is even more important that it looks like a really appealing town house!

I’d get your pics re-take. The living room I can’t figure out at all, feels like it’s a picture of the couch. The other living room is quite narrow.

Personally, I don’t like town houses and for me
your garden would put me off as it feels like a narrow walk way and is quite overlooked.

For me, the inside looks fine.

But personally... I hate a townhouse, I hate a mid terrace, I hate a small, paved garden, I hate traffic/garages at the back wall and the price is a bit steep compared to others available locally.
So it would not be a house that passes the filters I set up on rightmove, I would not even see it, let alone arrange a viewing. This could be the issue.

I’m not local so have no idea on price for the area, but I would say:

• back garden very off putting! Nothing green at all, doesn’t look like a nice environment for either relaxing in or kids playing in
• kitchen and bathroom fittings are ok but a bit plain and dated.

It looks like flats.
Very sterile looking
No garden greenery

The house looks fine, maybe the courtyard could be improved a bit.

It will be people battening down the hatches ready for the economic storm that is coming. No-one is moving at the moment unless they have to.

If you have to sell now - drop the price and someone will show an interest.

Just read through other comments. Had another look at the listing and sold prices and it says that your house was listed in August 2026. Looking at it, the kitchen (most of it. There are still things that are white) and it's a blue-based green and the walls are a clashing shade of yellow based-green. Are the pictures in the link out of date?

Apologies, again, for banging on about the kitchen, but I think it needs to be more neutral. I think most people look at kitchens and start seeing bills of £20k, plus lots of mess and disruption to replace them nowadays. Especially when a house is at its ceiling price.

Picture added *not the best. Can be seen better through RM sold prices.

Garden looks better with seating area :)

It looks pretty miserable. All the rooms seem to have views of brick walls, the yard is depressing and the front wall seems to have damp issues. Plus next door's satellite dish suggests chav neighbours and poor phone signal. I wouldn't view unless it was a bargain, which it's not.

Average photos and in the wrong price range. Not your fault but that house is never worth that, imagine its skewed by the nice area.

Houses between £300k-600k are struggling to sell atm.

I and a few of my friends dislike the 3 story town houses that are popping up more these days .
For me it gives the impression they are squeezed into a housing estate by going up and less space around you / bigger rooms etc .
Sorry , but they are soulless .
However , it is the modern way of living and will still attract many people .
Look at the houses in Bicester and compare your to there's and also new builds and price accordingly . Good luck .

As a matter of interest , are you planning to buy the same type of house for your next home ?