Should we lower the price?

Newtonlot

Am after some advice please.

We've had our house up for 3 weeks now and even thought estate agents reckon about 36 people have requested details we haven't had any viewings.

There is a similar house in the street up for sale that has been up for a year and won't budge on the price. They've had an offer of a couple of grand less but said they would only take offers over the asking price. So they have let it in the mean time.

Our neighbours put their house up and it sold with in a couple of weeks. It went for £5k less than our asking price, but they have a smaller garden and drive than ours. The estate agent also said ours has nothing to do decorating wise compared to the neighbours ( I know this could have been the hard sell and we did try to take it with a pinch of salt).

We are not desperate to move as we haven't been looking anywhere else, however I would like to see some interest. Our eldest starts school in september and I'd like to know what is going to happen school wise as we want to move completley out of the area.

Here's the link to our house
Clicky

Do you think we should drop the price a little or hold on for a few more weeks?

Cheers

blunt_crayon

how much is/was the similar house on for?

how long ago did the neighbours sell their house?

Newtonlot

The similar house is on for the same as ours £139950.

The neighbours sold about 8 weeks ago (they moved last week) for £135000.

reef

A quick glance at your postcode on Rightmove's house price section shows the most expensive semi-detached house to sell was £149,950 in June 2007.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detail.html?outcode=SR2&incode=0TH&streetName=Napoleon%20Close&locality=Ryhope&country=england&buildType=1&propertyType=0&yearSelection=All%20years&columnToSort=DEED_DATE&sortOrder=ascending&summaryIndex=0

A look at the Land Registry figures for Sunderland show prices peaked in August 2007 and have dropped 17.3% on semi-detached houses since then.

http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices/housepriceindex/report/default.asp?step=4&locationType=0&area=Sunderland&reporttype=3&datetype=1&from1=01%2F1995&from2=05%2F2009&image2.x=22&image2.y=9

Assuming your house was worth the same as the most expensive sale back at the peak, it would now therefore be worth around £124,000. Obviously its just an estimate, but I think your neighbours were exceptionally lucky to get what they got for their house! I would suggest you drop and see if it brings in some interest.

brit1234

Yes about £10,000 above similar properties

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=OUTCODE^2447&sortByPriceDescending=false&minBedrooms=3&maxBedrooms=3&displayPropertyType=houses&oldDisplayPropertyType=houses&index=30

Plus all this rubbish about green shoots has finished and prices set to continue falling as unemployment rapidly rises.

Nenen

Newtonlot wrote: »

We are not desperate to move as we haven't been looking anywhere else, however I would like to see some interest. Our eldest starts school in september and I'd like to know what is going to happen school wise as we want to move completley out of the area.

Do you mean you want to move before your child starts school in September? I'm not sure this is realistic unless you drop the price significantly on yours and either find an empty property to buy chain free or move into rented accommodation.

littlemissfrugal

can't comment on the price being wrong but what I would say is in the photo of the childs room the way the furniture is arranged makes the room look quite small - if I was looking at your property details I would automatically assume that Bed 3 was even smaller so that could put me off. Other than that your home is beautifully presented and the garden is a decent size, possibly speak to the agent about retaking photos for bed 2 and see what they say. Good luck

Newtonlot

Thanks for the comments.
The only other house like ours to have sold on the estate was a repo a few years back so doesn't give a true reflection on what the houses were worth then.

We were aware that we ould have to take les than the asking price, but the estate agent was quiet persuasive in the asking price. (He only gets 1% comission so not as if he is going to make a killing by selling it at the higher price). We had thought whatever price we put it on for someone would try to knock us down - even if we put a realistic price.

I didn't think we would move by september, I just wanted an indication of if it would be this year or next so we can decide what to about schools. We don't need to worry about finding another property as we have decided to stay with family or rent in the area we are thinking of so we can get a feel for where is nice and stuff.

The second bedroom can fit a double bed in it - I think the angle of the camera makes the room look loads smaller or it might even be the type of camera that tries to show more of the room and sometimes makes it seem weird. I'll speak to the EA about that. I wondered if we should have a photo of the third bedroom to show that we can fit a bed in and it's used as a bedroom.

We are going to ring the EA on monday and ask them their opinion. But reminding them that we are realistic in what we will take and reminding them of the drivel they spouted when we were uncertain of the higher asking price.

Thanks for all your opinions.

silvercar

Some parts of the country are a nightmare to get your child into a decent school, particularly when you have missed the main application date. I would phone the schools in the area and see if they would take your son. You could find that you would be placed at a sink school or have to cope with a long journey on public transport. If this is important to you, it make you rethink the whole move.

Thrugelmir

Certainly wouldn't panick after only 3 weeks. Remember you only need 1 buyer. Viewings made don't mean anything. We are rapidly heading for summer holidays and from experience I can tell you things do quieten down.

What you could consider if you are desperate to move that is. How much do you need to sell for? How much is a house in area you want to move to. What mortgage will you need. Although in £'s it may cost you money. If it gives you peace of mind for your sons education then thats a price worth considering.

Houses are homes primarily. Worrying about their value is fruitless as its something out of our individual control.

chemsatain

Could you move the house out of Sunderland to somewhere even half decent?