Selling our house and market feels very slow

[milo1717]

We have put our property on the market which is a 3 bed in the Midlands and in 2 weeks we have had 2 viewings. 1 loved it but needs to sell and 1 didn’t show up..🙃

Starting to think is there something wrong with our house or am I being really impatient and need to just wait it out.

If you had offers in 2024 how long did it take for viewings and offers to come through?

[Bumblebee74]

The market is slow but also Easter holidays probably means less requests for viewings as kids will be off school etc. people are also very sensitive to price at the moment given rates etc. Fingers crossed it picks up quickly.

[givebeesachance]

3-bed semi in the south east. We had 4 viewings in the first week and sold on day 8 after some back and forth negotiation. This was in February.

As ever with these things, it could be the market being slow but it could also be your price and/or listing. Do you have good photos, floorplan etc, and is the price sensible?

[CPHB2021]

We sold last year but looking to buy. Most houses we've seen have/are sitting for months on the market and then almost all being reduced a few times. I think it's a combination of the over inflated prices of 2020-2022 making sellers think their houses are worth more, and the hesitation from buyers as the market is very unstable. Rates are all over the place. It depends how much you want to move, 2 weeks is barely any time at all but if on a few months, I would suggest reducing.

[schloss]

The people who loved it may sell their house tomorrow, keep lines of communication open with them.

Once the Easter school hols are finished I expect the market will pick up. You have only been on the market a very short time.

[LuckysDadsHat]

It's a lovely house but it looks like a new build show home. It needs a few home comforts

Also most of the photos are of your furniture and not the actual room. I don't need a close up of your sink, hob or oven. I would get the photos down to 10 maximum. I want to see the rough size and shape of the room.

[Moonlaserbearwolf]

Agree that the photos aren’t selling the property - they are selling the furniture. Are you offering a fully furnished sale?
I’d be concerned that there are going to be more houses built on the green space in front of the property. Is this likely to happen?
When was the house built? I would also wonder why you are leaving the house so soon after it was built.

[rainingsnoring]

There's nothing wrong with the house and the pictures are good, except for the garden ones (lawn needs mowing at least).
Why are you marketing it for 10% more than you bought it for less than 18 months ago though? The market has fallen in this time, not risen. Lots of sellers and estate agents still haven't realised that 2022 prices are unrealistic in most areas, let alone 2022+10/20%.

[fussychica]

DS a FTB looking to buy but nothing much coming onto the market in his price range. Everything that was on the market when he started looking in March has sold. He offered on a couple but was outbid. He's hoping people will start selling again once the kids go back to school next week. So different to where we are where nothing much is selling.

[unpleasantindividual]

black kitchen, total no

[BigWillyLittleTodger]

I would imagine most buyers who are looking for a new build want brand new and not one that’s been ‘used’ and on the market so quickly after being built.

[Dandelion24]

I think your pictures are okay. The video is annoying. Hate snapshot videos. I find them pointless but never the less it wouldn’t steer me off as you have a floor plan.

I however think it’s the price looking at properties under offer. New builds for one are a lot pricier than market value.
You have a new build priced at 349k where the developer offered incentives.

Yours I’m guessing is lived in so it doesn’t have that brand new feel to it anymore plus you’re selling for much more than the developers have sold without any incentives.

You have another 3 bed that has sold close to 309k and probably less as it doesn’t have the OIEO tag. Yes it needs a bit of cosmetic updating but some people will prefer to buy that over a new build.

Your asking price is just too high

[GB81]

The market is very slow. My partner is an EA, plenty of houses coming on the market but still a lot of uncertainty around interest rates. I think people are hanging on for a BoE rate cut, they did say rates will come down but then they held last time.
Other than that you’re not making the best of your garden, I’ve never seen anything as dull. Can you not put some furniture in it or at least some pots with plants to give it some interest?

[funasamum]

@rainingsnoring

There's nothing wrong with the house and the pictures are good, except for the garden ones (lawn needs mowing at least).
Why are you marketing it for 10% more than you bought it for less than 18 months ago though? The market has fallen in this time, not risen. Lots of sellers and estate agents still haven't realised that 2022 prices are unrealistic in most areas, let alone 2022+10/20%.

Sadly I agree with this.... 2022 was an absolute peak for property prices and you will struggle to recoup this. Buyers are so savvy now and have information about how much paid and when you bought at their fingertips. I'd also question why you were moving so soon - often reasons are legitimate but rings alarm bells. (Bad neighbours/poor neighbourhood etc etc).

[WonderingWanda]

I think it looks fairly priced compared to what else is for sale in your area and I wouldn't say there is anything to put people off, it's pretty much a blank canvas so it wouldn't stop me going to look at it if I was in the market for a new build type house. While the black kitchen isn't to everyone's taste it's not offensive and I reckon people would overlook that. I think it's just the market.

[Validus]

That’s a lot of white. It looks like a show home. Which I find strangely off-putting.

Thoughts as I went through the listing.

Could you borrow a swing set or something to make the garden look like it’s not a brand new newbuild ? Or maybe a picnic bench to make it look lived in? Also add some pots with tall plants/something to break up the bleak expanse of the garage wall.

I’d add colour to the house via cushions, throws or just fresh flowers in the pictures. It’s just too beige/white.

Agree with PP that I’m not buying your furniture so I don’t need close ups. There are a lot of photos of the kitchen. I also don’t need the light shades.

You have two kids by the look of it but they have zero stuff? Where would I store things? Can I really fit storage into the rooms? Is the reason the baby’s room is mostly empty because nothing fits?

Cant do anything about the culvert running past the house, but it’s a bit worrying to me because where I come from floods. But that’s just me.

[Reallybadidea]

What are new builds going for in that area? People will expect to pay less for yours.

[Candleabra]

Market is dead. About 10 houses near me unsold in the last 4 months. 2 years ago they were sold in days. But people are pricing at 2022 levels…
Your house is immaculate. Things that put me off: the black kitchen (admittedly that is personal taste, but so many photos almost drew my attention to it), lack of storage, garden - at least mow the lawn! The garden walls look very high, is it the angle? Does it get any sun?

[Jf20]

Looking at what’s for sale within a mile you’re over priced, but I think it will raise questions you’ve only been there a year or so and want 35k more than you paid?

[MooseAndSquirrelLoveFlannel]

Kitchen puts me off straight away, feels like a warehouse rather than a home.

For a house without even a downstairs bathroom, it seems quite highly priced. But if that's the price range in your area then so be it (I live in the south east so fairly used to high priced homes) The market is slow for sure right now. I sold in 2021 and it went within 3 days, my friend sold in 2024 and hers took 3 months and both houses were broadly similar. 3 beds, in need of work, in an extremely popular area, both priced to sell..

[Candleabra]

There is a downstairs WC on the floorplan

[MooseAndSquirrelLoveFlannel]

@Candleabra

There is a downstairs WC on the floorplan

I must have missed that.

[Thatsthewayitisnt]

All that black , white and beige would totally put me off. Sorry. Also the garden looks quite bleak. It just doesnt look appealing.

[Sunnnybunny72]

It's very well styled but out of every window all I see is a brick wall or a roof. The garden is like a prison yard.
Not for me.

[Jf20]

@Sunnnybunny72

It's very well styled but out of every window all I see is a brick wall or a roof. The garden is like a prison yard.
Not for me.

I don’t think she’s trying to sell it to you. So no need for you to decline it,like you’re a prospective buyer