Is It Me?

Chrisca50

Call me cynical...but

We went to visit a local estate agent's financial adviser because we were enquiring about remortgaging. We said that we were going to go on the market with them later on this year. They rang a week or so later saying that things were getting busy and did we want to go on now. We thought, no time like the present, so we did.

We have been on with them for 4 weeks now, have had 3 viewings which came to nothing but since then a couple of houses have come on the market with them in our same road. The thing is they are on at a similar price to ours but, obviously, they have either an extra bedroom, en suite or utility room which we haven't got. Now we have the estate agent asking if maybe we should drop our price. When I asked why they were on at a similar price to ours but had more going for them I was told that they were on the market previously at a similar price so they went on this time at the same as before.

Am I being cynical or is this estate agent using us to lower prices in the area to make their commission easier to obtain?

distilled

Cynical? Welcome to the world of Estate Agents!!

Chrisca50

one reply telling me I'm not is good enough for me!!

So, now another question - what would you do in my position?

How can I sell my house without dropping the price, it doesn't seem possible with all the others around me a better bet for the price?

jobbingmusician

I guess you may not be able to do this.

But to give it your best shot.......
- clear out loads of stuff and put it into storage,
- paint the whole house white or magnolia,
- make sure it's SPOTLESS every time a viewer comes,
- show the viewers round yourself, don't let the EA do it
- make a list of all the specially good points and make sure you tell viewers all the points on the list

HTH! I've never managed to do the 'tidy' thing, but I understand that others do......;)

bylromarha

It could be that the other vendors want quick sales...especially if their houses have been up before. Remember it is ultimately the vendor who sets the price, not the EA.

I would hope the other vendors got a few valuations done with other EAs before choosing who to go with, so the price for a quick sale would have been similar.

[Deleted User]

Chrisca50 wrote:

one reply telling me I'm not is good enough for me!!

So, now another question - what would you do in my position?

How can I sell my house without dropping the price, it doesn't seem possible with all the others around me a better bet for the price?

Sorry to tell you this, but it would appear that you have no option but to lower your price if you want to sell your property. If houses with an extra bedroom/utility/en suite etc in the same road as yours, are priced the same, then I would have thought that should tell you something.

That said, are these other houses with the same EA as yours? If not, then perhaps they undervalued the other properties and yours may be more at a realistic price!!! But you will have to consider that possibility for yourself. The other option you have is to take it off the market.

Chrisca50

Thats the thing, our estate agent suggested the price we put it on at and, coincidentally we were thinking of the same price, but then the same estate agents put larger/better equipped houses on at the same price as ours which makes me feel that they are dictating prices in the area. Maybe others are trying to get a quick sale, I don't know but it just seemed very dodgy to me!!!

I think we will have to go and have a chat with them and see whats going on. We are not in a position where we have to move so we are not going to lower our price so that we have to set our sights lower. We will just stay put!!!

jezza1O1

All estate agents are b'strds.

Id say they tend to push market prices up as it means a greater % but I spose the argument of more sales is equally valid - prob depends on their individual take on it.


I think the real problem here however is that houses are hugely over valued right now, and yours is even more over valued. Are any of the houses in the street selling? You say theyve been on before? This suggest theyve been on the market for a bit. I think the 1st lie you were told was the 'things are getting busy'.

GL selling your place, at the end of the day as long as you can net off any reduction in your asking price from the price of your next home then what difference does it make, in fact you'll save on tax. What needs to happen is for everyone to realise that all property is overvalued and that we all need to lower our asking prices. Until this happens I wouldnt go making too many plans...

ukbondraider

I went to view about 30+ houses in the space of 2 weeks for my girlfriend of which on two occasions around approx 5 houses were on the same street. All were at the same price but most differed slightly in their layout and interior.

The house she and I decided to pick was the one that offered the most for the money in terms of room sizes, layout and decor.

One of the houses which we deemed to be the worst of the five in that street had very little chance taking our money at a discounted price let alone the price it was on for.

The simple fact is that if a house on the same street has an extra bedroom or en suite or a larger dining room then this house will be used a benchmark for pricing by buyers. If I then viewed a house with one less bedroom on the same street then I would automatically deem it to sell many thousands less regardless of what the vendor puts it on for. I would then put in an appropriate offer If I liked the house and simply walk if the vendor doesnt accept this discounted price.

If your house is a similar house to others on your street but has less to offer, then you should indeed lower the price or spend money doing the interior up.

Of course the first option is the better option as it will entice more buyers.

Selling things like houses is like getting a job. An employer will choose the best people in the market at that time just like a house buyer will choose the best house on the market at that time. If your house is not the best on the market for its price you need to adjust it so it eventually becomes the best house for that given price.

Chrisca50

UK Bondraider - yes, I agree with what you say, and it makes sense, naturally, to lower the price if our property is either smaller, has less to offer etc than other in our street. What has really ticked me off with all of this is the fact that ours went on first for xxxx amount which we actually agreed with the EA was a fair price to put it on for, and for the same estate agent 3 weeks later to value other properties better than ours at the same price. It feels like they used us as a bench mark so that they could come back to us suggesting we lower the price. Why did they change their valuations in such a short space of time? :mad:

Tahiti

Simple answer, to get you to sign up.

EAs are a strange breed, but I'd be surprised if they're trying to push prices down in any area. Afterall, it's less commission. Out of interest, did the EA suggest an asking price with a view to accepting a fair bit lower? And what feedback did you get from the viewers?