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!

The kitchen looks like it lacks storage because you have so much on the shelf and above the units.

I also think the bedrooms look small and cluttered.

Can you at least declutter the kitchen?

The garden is also sparse

Based on recent local sales, the house is priced appropriately for the current market.

head. Wall. Bang

The "recent" sales were two years ago I believe, that isn"t realistic pricing now with borrowing costs expected to soar.

ummm folks...this OP is not coming back

They asked for honest feedback, what did they expect? 400k FFS!

It’s a shame because @Diva78 is so set on her price despite the fact this property has stagnated now and to anyone else it’s abundantly clear that it’s the price.

Must be very frustrating for the agent

It’s a similar story on various threads like this, and perhaps all over the country. Sellers don’t want to accept the reality that the market is very different from when they bought their houses and sometimes they want to make as much profit as they can to fund their much-coveted onward purchases. But what buyers there are don’t give a shit about that. They care about potentially not being mortgage prisoners, looming high interest rates, getting value for money when they are prepared to commit, and perhaps losing their jobs. So, this stalemate situation is one reason of many why the market is so awful at the moment.

This one is particularly adamant though and genuinely can’t seem to see the wood for the trees

Oh still very much here!

I asked for honest feedback and certainly got the full, unfiltered internet experience! The constructive points have been genuinely useful, and the rest have at least been entertaining.

Thanks all.

OP, are you aware there is no photo of the garden on rightmove? Even the estate agent site only has a photo looking back to the house, I think I can see a corner of a seating area at the end away from the house but there's no picture of it so it just looks like a concrete drying yard, not somewhere to spend time.

When I look at houses I do the relevant the filters then flick through the photos. I'd assume there was no garden and may not even bother reading the description on rightmove.

I agree with PPs that oieo is off putting, I don't even bother looking at them even if the amount is below my top limit. So many people saying oieo 350 when they want 500, it feels pointless even bothering.

The second photo being the downstairs reception room looks like it's the main/most important living room, and it looks tiny.

Everything looks tight for space, I think it's everything being pushed to the edges of the rooms - the dining table could maybe be pulled out a bit and turned 90 degrees? It gives the impression it doesn't quite fit and is a bit cramped. The big fridge being away in the corner in the dining area rather than attached to the kitchen units feels like there's no kitchen space.

The 1st floor living room furniture is very large and dark in the space, and makes the photo look cramped again, this picture particularly makes it look like there's no room to actually walk around.

A photo with the balcony doors open may be a good idea.

Maybe some lighter coloured neutral throws, big cushions or something, and something on the coffee table - a lighter coloured tray maybe, or a nice book or something, to tone down the contrast between the pale walls and the black furniture.

The red curtains are the most noticeable thing about the room, imo they haven't photographed well and sort of overpower everything, including the view. The rooms with green and wood colours feel much warmer and softer.

So I assume you have taken on board the need for a price cut and are having a chuckle at the nonsense about shuffling plants around?

There is a photo of the garden - it’s all concrete.

It’s a shame the price reduction hasn’t actually happened though.

There's a photo on the agent's website of the garden, but there's not one on the rightmove listing

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/92266752#/media?id=media0&ref=photoCollage&channel=RES_BUY

I’ve not seen the previous listing but when I clicked on the link I saw a house that I “know” - quite a few friends have lived in this style, but I’ve seen it presented more nicely.

Some thoughts:

the outside picture isn’t great.
no picture of the garden
The first living space photo makes it look like it’s the main living room (ie very small), I know this is because it’s downstairs but it’s not ideal.
The main living room photo of the corner sofa is nice, but I’m not sure it needs the other photo.

The angle of some of the photos taken up high and looking down looks a bit weird and I think probably makes the rooms look smaller than they are.

A couple of photos seem to major on doorways, which is not great.

The bathroom photos don’t add anything - they’re just a loo, shower, nothing wrong with them but they don’t tell me anything the floor plan doesn’t tell me.

Cracking example of MN time waster.

OP: house not selling, wonders why
MN: too expensive, lacks warmth and generic decor for price.
OP: doubles down

Why bother asking for advice if you won't listen to it?

OP paid £360k nine years ago!
The problem with estates ( as I found to my cost this last year) is there lots of choice at any one time. Unless the house has had significant updates people will go for the cheapest.
My house (three storey modern build) took a year to sell at a 20% discount from its initial launch. There were hardly any viewings as six others came to the market at the same time. Two sold plus ours recently and to a private buyer.
The OP @Diva78 is not looking for much growth. Barely over 1% per year (houses have had a median growth of 5% over the last twenty years I believe.
What killed our interest was the Iran war and mortgage rate uncertainty. If you think about it a couple would need a household income of £100k or so to afford the OPs house and those jobs are on hold due to the cost of doing business. Nobody is employing executives or marketing people.
I hope the OP has utilised some of the ideas put forward. I know how soul destroying selling can be.

So if we look at interest rates back then we can see that the OP probably overpaid in a manic phase of the market, my thinking now in the present global situation is that this house might get interest at 300k? If you use apps like PropertyLog it is obvious that 100k price drops are not at all unusual now.

https://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/property-statistics/uk-interest-rate-history-graph/

Ultimately it is @Diva78 the one losing out

I wonder if her partner agrees with her stubbornness around the price

Use a mortgage calculator to help you arrive at a sensible asking price.

It will also tell you what others can afford, incomes in the UK are quite clearly divided into levels and most people fall in the lower and middle levels, if the mortgage calculator says that the person or family who normally buys a flat or a new-build or a terrace etc. can"t really pay the monthly debt costs on your asking price with a mortgage, then your asking price is wrong, the Golden Buyer who has more cash than sense riding to the rescue on a white stallion is best left for children"s bedtime stories.