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Original poster

Beautiful House - Nobody Wants to Buy

25 replies

Evenstar · 15/03/2010 13:12

I have had my house on the market since January, in that time I have had only five viewings. Feedback comes back every time that it is a lovely house immaculately presented and no fault to be found but just not for them, either that or they reject it for reasons which were totally apparent from the floor plan eg having only 2 reception rooms, too open plan. The estate agent is baffled, I have reduced the price once and they are not suggesting that is an issue now, in fact are saying prices round here are rising slightly. What do I do, any suggestions from anyone who has been in the same position? This is really getting me down now as all the agents who valued forsaw no problem in selling it and were fighting to offer me incredible deals with fixed price fees, it was totally refurbed with new bathrooms etc only 4 years ago and more recently fully redecorated and all outside areas redone with lovely patios and paths. I am at a loss to know what I can do to make it more appealing.

OP posts:

oldenglishspangles · 15/03/2010 13:28

can you post pictures? Have you asked friends for honest feedback?

Strawberrycornetto · 15/03/2010 13:32

Hi. It sounds like you have just been unlucky and need to wait for the right buyer. If there really is nothing wrong with the house, the three variables would seem to be the location, the price and the local market. Perhaps you could find out how many viewings are happening for equivalent houses. If it is a biggish house it does take time because the pool of potential purchasers is smaller.

Being on since January really isn't all that long (although I do know that it feels like it because we put our house on in January and we waited 5 weeks for an offer and it felt like forever. That said, we also accepted a lowish offer and I did think that all three agents overvalued it in the first place.

30andMerkin · 15/03/2010 13:35

Post some pics up!

Is it on a busy road/overlooked/has industrial or farm buildings nearby/scary looking neighbours - i.e. something that would not be apparent from the particulars?

hanaflower · 15/03/2010 13:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lanky · 15/03/2010 13:49

Can you change estate agents? We had exactly this experience when we sold five years ago. The estate agent was sending around people who were never going to buy it for various reasons.

We found a new agent who told us what sort of people he would expect to buy the house. He showed only two people round and both made offers.

Also, I think the property market is often pretty slow at the start of the year. Maybe it will pick up with the brighter weather

aseriouslyblondemoment · 15/03/2010 13:53

much sympathy for you
i'm in exactly the same position as you except my house has been on the market for over 2 yrs
like yours mine is a stunning property and in that time i have substantially reduced it but have not had many decent viewers
mine is on a main road tho but period houses like mine invariably are
out of interest how often has your home been marketed in the local papers etc since the beginning of the year?
has it got a prime spot in the EA's window?
are the online details correct and does the photography draw the eye?
is your property always available to view online?
i ask all of this as i'm about to change EA's as mine have failed me miserably on all the above points

30andMerkin · 15/03/2010 13:59

Just one thought - if you're in an area where there just aren't many new houses coming onto the market (which might be the case if prices are starting to rise), then people will be more likely to come and view a house that isn't quite right for them, just to see what's out there.

We've been guilty of this, partly because we felt we should widen our horizons/be less picky etc, and partly just to see a comparatively priced house, even if we had no intention to buy. Which is a bummer if you're the vendor!

aseriouslyblondemoment · 15/03/2010 14:18

ohh do so hope you weren't the lady who wanted to rip out my cast iron victorian range and upvc my sash windows...

30andMerkin · 15/03/2010 14:38

GOD NO!

I am the type of person who views houses with upvc windows and makes my DH sweat by mentally adding up how much it would be to replace them all with replica wooden sashes!

aseriouslyblondemoment · 15/03/2010 14:42

phew

Original poster

Evenstar · 15/03/2010 16:07

I would rather not post pictures/links as I wouldn't want to be identified in real life, the house is large (5 bedroom detached and 130ft rear garden) and distinctive and would be recognised locally. I think the comment about not much on the market might well be relevant, the estate agent said that people are viewing things that they might not otherwise bother with, but frankly with only 5 viewings that is not cheering. I am not prepared to reduce the price again at the moment, as the agent is comfortable with the current level which is a drop of £25,000 from the original asking price. I have had a half page feature in the local property pages and it is going in again next week with new pictures, the estate agents have phoned over 150 people on their mailing list, some of them more than once, and I have a special feature on Right Move with extra pictures. I really don't think they could have done any more. All my friends say honestly that they love the house, and when we had the refurb done including a new porch and front garden landscaping several people knocked on the door asking for the contractor's details.

OP posts:

Original poster

Evenstar · 15/03/2010 16:11

Neighbours are lovely and the house is situated in an attractive non estate road with access at the end to woods and a nature reserve, which is very sought after locally. We are on the "good" side with a south facing garden and houses seldom come on the market on that side, my neighbours either side have been here for 20 years and 47 years respectively.

OP posts:

beautifulgirls · 15/03/2010 16:14

Take a look at another agent if you can - made a world of difference for us selling out old house. It was only after we changed and saw how pro-active the new agent was at selling that we realised quite how bad the first agent had been.

Fimbow · 15/03/2010 16:14

It sounds lovely. Can you at least give us a clue to where you are?

MarthaFarquhar · 15/03/2010 16:18

I would say that if you are struggling to get people through the door, then the problem is either the price or the marketing. Some agents are much better than others (hire better photographers, better ad placement, better at being pro-active with their current contacts). We paid a higher % to go with an agent who we felt was better at marketing, and our house sold quickly at a good price in a rubbish market. It was well worth the extra quarter percent or whatever it was.

aseriouslyblondemoment · 15/03/2010 17:43

have you considered the possibility of having an open morning?
now might be an ideal time as everything is starting to bloom so your garden will look lovely

mazzystartled · 15/03/2010 17:52

I think a lot of people are VERY nervous at the moment about big financial commitments. Double dip and all that. Maybe it will be better post-election. Also if it's a big house its looking like that Kirsty Allsop "forever family home" (vomit) - and some people want to make it their own so prefer something with some scope to "do up"?

It sounds like the agent is not reaching the right people ( do you have an idea of who might like the house yourself?) maybe think about whether another agent might deal with similar properties.

LadyintheRadiator · 15/03/2010 17:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GrendelsMum · 15/03/2010 19:01

Just thinking about this a bit more - is it perhaps beautifully done up in a way that might not be to everyone's taste? You're obviously very proud of it, but there does seem to be something putting people off, and I wonder whether people look at it and think 'I can see that they've spent a lot of money on it, but it's not to my taste'.

Strawberrycornetto · 15/03/2010 20:46

I really think you might need to reconsider the price. We thought our agents overvalued our house by about 10% which equated to about 80,000. We dropped our price once but then accepted quite a low offer and still felt like we got a reasonable deal. Just because the agents wanted to sell it doesn't mean that they got the price right, a house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it in the end.

Original poster

Evenstar · 15/03/2010 21:28

All the estate agents complimented me on the choice of colours, kitchen units and bathrooms. Everything is quite neutral and would suit most styles of furniture, I know the house is appealing to a wide range of people. I don't look for compliments when people visit me, but most people who come in say it is beautiful. Although there are only 2 reception rooms the lounge diner is almost 30 x 20 feet and has a triple aspect with huge windows and french doors to the garden. I am really thinking the only thing to do is just hope that the better weather will bring the buyers out and somebody will love it as much as I do. It has only been pushed at the lower price this week, so maybe things will start to happen soon. Thanks everyone for your contributions.

OP posts:

LadyBiscuit · 15/03/2010 21:54

Don't know if it's any help, but I've been looking at this website for tips to get my place ready to put on the market. I've been looking at other properties nearby and seeing what goes fast and plan to shamelessly copy

hester · 15/03/2010 22:05

We have just sold. We started off with what, I now recognise, was a very over-inflated asking price from a pushy estate agent. Almost no viewings. We ended up dropping the price quite significantly, and eventually got asking price (the new, lower asking price, that is).

We live in a very desirable area, though our flat is pretty scruffy. I think it appealed to people who wanted to buy in a prestigious location and then add value by doing the place up (the buyer's plan is to add a second bathroom - to a two-bed flat!). Lots of estate agents have said to us that at the moment the market is very hard to read, and it may be that you are simply appealing to quite a restricted pool of potential buyers - people who want to buy at that level and who aren't interested in adding value (because your home is already gorgeous, unlike our shack). So it may just be about being patient, or lowering your asking price if you can't.

UpToMyTitsOf · 15/03/2010 22:10

So... has it been in the market just from this last January? be patient, it takes a while. Don't lower the price yet.

Patry · 18/04/2011 19:51

I know this won't be any consolation but:

we live in a very nice side of outer London (in theory demand in london and the SE is higher)

we have a 2bed garden flat (which may not sound like a lot but having a garden in london isn't easy)

the property is in more than excellent condition

no busy roads or anything. In fact, a lovely village feeling with good parks, transport etc

we have been in the market for 7 weeks and had 17 viewings!!!! Only one person said they didn't like it at all. Yet, no offers. None, not even a silly one. And no, our price isn't high; in fact, slightly cheaper than the other garden flats (there aren't many in the area).

I hope we all get an offer soon.

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