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!

Really interesting views here and I disagree with many. The rooms look standard for the type of house - UK rooms are never particularly big. It definitely doesn’t look like anything I remember from the 1980s! To me it looks clean and ready to move in.

my changes would be to make the garden a living space - chairs and a table with some plants in pots (so you can take them with you)… possibly a fabric gazebo (approx £200).
second change would be the family room… why is the TV so oddly high? I think it’s really important to demonstrate the ground floor space exists so families don’t have to go upstairs every time they want a comfy seat.

I’ll also add, the market is terrible with fuel prices reaching £2 per litre, that always seems to correlate with a stagnant market. Some people are anti town houses - which I don’t get as we loved ours and only moved because it was 3 bedrooms and we needed 4.

The things that put me off are the red accents, the cityscape mural and the lack of lawn/green in the garden. Possibly a bit picky, but I am currently house hunting and these stand out to me. Scrolling on rightmove, they would be a bit jarring.
I agree with pp also, the photos aren't very good.

I also wouldn't be interested in any property that states OIEO. Just state what you want for it!

It doesn't look lived in. I think it could pass as a holiday let. I would not have the kitchen photo where the table is pressed against the wall. The study photo i think needs to show the work station and settee separately. I don't know about the price, as I don't know the area. Hope u get a buyer soon.

This

Photo 1 looks bleached and it's too close up. You can't get an idea of where the walls are and how big the room is - it looks like a partial sofa ad, not a room photo. In fact all of the photos are so close up that you can't get any sense of size.

In the kitchen and a couple of the bedrooms there are items on top of the cupboards - move them as it makes it look cramped and like there isn't enough storage.
Clean the slabs in the back garden and add some big pots of plants. Also put a big pot plant at the front.
The decor in the main living room is a bit off-putting for some reason, so could be styled better.

Why would anyone want to live in Bicester?

It sometimes makes sense to price a property just below a price band, i.e. £399,000. There's a psychological effect, even although the difference in price is minimal.

OP, the things that would put me off (and there’s nothing you can do about it) is the Jack n Jill “en-suite” and the fact that the living room’s on the first floor.

You have a lovely home but it’s accross 3 floors. That would put me of with young DC. You need to do some with the outside space as well. It’s just a concrete block and looks neglected.

I don't think that any of the points raised about the soul or the curtains are going to be what's preventing viewings. If you are in the market for a house you're not going to discount a house without even a viewing because you don't like the colour of the curtains. You will discount it if it's priced at more than the current market will pay.

Massive response here OP of people telling you what's wrong.
I think a lot of people looking at property online need something to catch their imagination. If the seller can tell a story in such a way as to make potential buyers stop and consider you are half way there.
Interiors that have a purpose, like a reading area, bookshelves with a library ladder say.
An outside space with a table and chair set as well as some greenery, lavender in pots suggests scents which seem homely. That sort of thing.
A kitchen table set out as if if for a family brunch and so on. Have a look at Inigo/The Modern House for this sort of thing.
However it will always come down to what someone will pay for it as Kirstie always says! And the market is depressed right now, so you need a really good estate agent.

First photo has to be of the property or it does put people off
the house decor doesn’t appear to flow which gives it an odd vibe, the red curtains and black couch feel studenty

it doesn’t look cosy, but could easily do so, fresh nice paint and sofa cover with neutral curtains

panelling is cheap and can really add character to modern houses as they can look quite sterile

my friend bought one of these recently and the decor was very clean girl aesthetic

Where I live in Cheshire, houses over that price are struggling to sell. We're seeing properties over £500k having to make big price decreases. A 5-bed across the road from us has dropped from £625k to £575k in a matter of months and still not selling. In summary, I think is the way the market is at the moment.

On a mobile, the agent's website cuts off the edges of the photos, making the rooms look even smaller than they are.

As others have said, the outside appearance is dire. Get some plants.

And the listing is terrible. It's is quite literally a listing of what is in each room, with no thought about how useful that info is to buyers. Nobody cares about details of the meter boxes and consumer electrical units, or the plain plaster ceilings. There's no description. No life. Some agents get far too carried away with the flowery language, but this goes too far the other way.

Black and red looks a bit brutal, especially for the first photo. Could you liven things up a bit with coloured/patterned cushions/throws?

our house has good square footage, three bathrooms, flexible living and home-working space, a garage, driveway parking and a quieter position on the

I’m struggling to see all of that from the photos. You need to get them retaken because they make everything look cramped. Also I would change the front photo, if I was just scrolling it kinda makes it look like it’s a flat and I wouldn’t bother looking through the photos.

Also agree with people saying about OIEO. You said you’ve reduced to 400k but you haven’t. You’ve asked for offers more than that. If my max was 400k and I saw oieo I wouldn’t even bother looking because I don’t know how much more you want.

It's price - but it's overpriced because it's the Asda Smart Price equivalent of a home. There's nothing wrong with it - but it's cheapest kitchen/bathroom/furniture/carpets with uninspired decor (are you from New York?) and so a complete cosmetic renovation would be required which considering there's nothing actually wrong with it - will put a lot of people off. Your saving grace is the kid's room - it's got personality. If you can inject a bit more personality into the place and make it seem more welcoming then you'll have a better shot. But in reality - your best bet is dropping the price.

The red and grey/black living room feels very batchlor pad so I would definitely try and change that.

What i think is the family room feels like an after thought, can you make that a better space?

Offers over always a bad move. First photo should always be the front of the house.

Don't need a photo of everything just the best features. Try and add some planting to the garden.

But at the end of the day price is the key.

It needs dressing. In my opinion you have taken the decluttering to the extreme. You need texture and greenery. Agree with PP - the red curtains & mural must go.

Rugs (natural - rattan perhaps), baskets (again natural fabrics and finishes). House plants and a complete rethink of the photos.

I like a lot of it. I would love a 3 story house and I like the downstairs with the big kitchen, the study/family room, and also the 1st floor drawing room.

I don't like the yard instead of a garden and the way the top floor doesn't have the sloped, large loft bedroom many 3 story houses have. Also not keen on the garage in a block.

Ultimately, it's a cross between a terraced house and the layout (garage in a block) of a leasehold flat. I think due to this, the people who are going to be interested are those that value space above all other aspects. And I also suspect it's priced too high for a terraced house with a garage in a block.

It does look cold and uninviting - did you use a filter on the photos? The relentless grey is a bit dreary and overall the house looks like like a rental, if you know what I mean.
Whatever is in flower now at the garden centre, buy a load of it and fill all the planting containers front and back. Go big if you can.
You absolutely need new photos, taken with a proper wide angle lens, don't double up the photos on the listing. The first photo should be the front of the house.
Put some warm coloured towels on the bathroom racks and some fake potted ferns. A nice throw for the big grey couch etc. etc.
Can you borrow a few rugs?
Best of luck, it's a very odd market out there at the moment.

Bachelor pad was my first thought too!

@Diva78 it's not very cosy or inviting, doesn't say 'family home' to me - I think that's partially down to things like the awful red curtains (and I say that as someone with red curtains too!), lack of 'feminine touches' eg, rugs, textures etc and generally a cold, sterile atmosphere. It's possibly been too decluttered as it doesn't sell an aspirational lifestyle at all.

The outside space is particularly uninviting and grim - why are there so few plants? We downsized in 2024 from somewhere with a huge mature garden to a cottage with a paved courtyard but have filled it with massive pots containing trees, shrubs and perennials as we couldn't live without greenery. We only purchased our place because there was nothing else available, but in Bicester there seems to be loads of options at a similar price point with better outside space, so I'd be scrolling past yours, I'm afraid.

Also, the EA blurb is way too detailed, listing the kitchen cabinet sizes etc - I've never known an EA to do this.

Ultimately, it's down to price! I can see what you paid in 2017 and unless you've made significant improvements (?) I can't see how it's now worth 400k+....

Are there lots of new builds about ? Because to my mind if you want a house like yours it’s easier to buy brand new , they seem less attractive without incentives and being in a chain especially if there are a lot of houses for sale .