house on market - what to expect re: viewings and estate agent practice

Blackpool_Saver

any chance of a link?

PasseySam

OK here is the link to the Rightmove ad:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-24685486.html

Had 8 viewings to date (in 2 weeks) and Rightmove hits seem to be good, so it seems that something (most likely the price) is stopping people from making offers.

Feedback as I said has been positive, some people had specific reasons which meant they hadn't offered such as not wanting an open plan kitchen/living area etc. Some people however, said they loved it but 'couldn't see themselves living there'. What does this mean? i.e. Nice but too expensive? (same as I've heard 'It's too small' means 'It's overpriced'.) I think we'll probably end up lowering the price bearing in mind our need for a quick sale, but was wondering if there was anything else we could do?

Thanks again for suggestions so far

googler

Has any viewer thus far said they REALLY like the red walls?

dander

I'd say, don't start feeling "us and them" towards the estate agent - they are on your side. Go in and ask them all the questions you are asking here. Just ask them straight up why they think you haven't had more viewers, what you can do to encourage them etc. They'll be as keen as you are to sell it, so will be glad to work together with you.

PasseySam

Thanks Dander, I agree - I think it's too easy to look for someone to blame when feeling the pressure and trying to sell quickly, and the EA is an easy target. I have spoken to the EA and expressed my worries and we are due to have a reassessment this week once we hear feedback from a recent viewing. I'm thinking we'll probably end up reducing the price for a quicker sale, but am also interested to hear what the EA suggests.

Googler - I haven't had any specific likes/dislikes from viewers so far, just vague but largely positive comments. I know the red walls will not appeal to everyone but the room is very large and when it had white walls it felt very sterile and cold to us. We love the red and feel the room is large and open enough to carry it, would the colour mean that people wouldn't even make any offers?

dander

Just wanted to add my personal view of your flat, in case it helps. It looks very designer and "young urban professional" and I think that that type of buyer will absolutely love it, but it is very specific to those people. There are going to be a fair number of types of people who just aren't looking for that style. But the style is right imo for the layout of the flat.
My one criticism would be that the photos make the flat look huge, but when you look at the dimensions, 22x15 for the entire living area including kitchen is actually not as big as it looks - I wonder if some people are disappointed because the pictures are over-selling it a bit.

I can't say anything about price because I don't know the area, but I presume it would have to be a very popular area if that's the price of a 1-bed flat!

But I do think a 1-bed flat in an expensive area, completely done up so it's at the top of its price range is always going to be one of the hardest things to sell. People with that money will always have a lot of other options to get something bigger - less desirable area, shabbier flat etc etc, so you're really waiting for someone who'll fall in love with it.

slobs

For me, the red walls are a complete turn off. The bedroom colour is lovely but red is one of those love it or hate it colours and for me it's a hate it.
I think the colour may well be adding to the difficulty of selling, no-one wants to get the paint tin out the day they move in because they can't live with the colour.
Maybe it's worth considering toning it down if you are still in the same situation in a few weeks.

Kittenonthekeys

I really like your flat in that lovely Victorian semi and if I was looking for a one-bed, it's exactly what I would go for. I think the garden is fab.
I can't imagine that the red walls would be a deal-breaker for a buyer - if they objected to the colour, all they would need to do is go out and buy a pot of paint! Despite what the House Doctor says, surely no one is that lacking in imagination.
I visited your area once and it seems like a great place to live; very similar to some of the nicer London suburbs.

I think you've done really well getting as many viewings as you have in such a short time so please don't panic just yet - it IS very early days. (Our house was on the market for 4 months - with loads of viewings - in 2009 before we got even one offer.)

I was kind of expecting to see a lower price tag though - a figure of £199,995 popped into my head; don't know why - and I have a feeling that if the price was a bit lower, you would be inundated with viewings. And goes without saying that the more viewings, the more chance of selling. Perhaps £200K is a mental cut-off point for some people? Generally, as people have already said, a relatively small number of viewings could indicate the price is pitched too high. Did your agent suggest that price, or was it one you asked them to put on it?
Another thing that's occurred to me is that some people are put off by a basement / lower ground floor because they have a reputation for being damp. Wouldn't matter to me but..............

I'd much rather have a nice, spacious one-bed flat than a poorly-converted '2 bed' which is still obviously a one bed divided into two unusable bedrooms just to make money! You get a lot of those in Brighton and Hove. Perhaps there are indeed people who would prefer that set-up to a having garden like yours, but I don't know anyone who would.

As for the internet advertising, for what it's worth, I'd say that Rightmove was THE main site to be on. It's the biggest and the best. Wouldn't worry too much about primelocation / findaproperty. Must say I agree with pie81 about advertising in your agent's office - worth asking them about it, but perhaps not that many people nowadays (esp. the profile that your flat would appeal to) actually ever visit the agent's office, so it isn't quite as vital as it once was. I also agree about the mystery shop.

I think the local paper is a good place too, because apparently people do still look in them for property. Have you got a board up outside?
Are you making it easy for people to come and view? I've lost count of the number of times we tried to view properties and were told, "No sorry, we can't get hold of the vendor / we need 48 hours notice / we haven't got a key," etc.
We gave our agent a spare key on the day we instructed them and told them to use it whenever we were out. We may not have got our offer as soon as we'd have liked, but at least people could get in whenever they wanted to come, e.g. when we were both out at work. And in that 4 months we got well over 100 viewings.

Regarding feedback, a lack of it is not always the agent's fault as they leave messages and the viewers often don't bother calling back.
F/B we got varied so much from "we've decided to buy in another town" to "we don't want a sloping driveway" to "stairs are too steep" to "garden too big/too small" that it was no longer helpful as the same thing never cropped up twice, so we stopped asking for it and just waited til we got our offer.

Someone will come along and fall in love - and you only need one.

Kittenonthekeys

Sorry - post appeared twice!

PasseySam

Thanks so much everyone for your feedback and opinions, really appreciate hearing what people think and ideas etc.

The asking price was suggested by the agent and was actually the middle of the range of valuations that we were given so it seemed fair to follow their advice. We've spoken to the EA this morning and decided to drop the price by £10k - we have been guided by them throughout as they know how the market is at the moment better than we do. So we'll take their advice and advice on here, drop the asking price and see what happens. Fingers crossed!

Thanks for your lovely post Kittenonthekeys, I'm glad you like the flat and wouldn't be put off by the red walls! Perhaps it looks more scary in the photos or something, personally I love it but I know it's not for everyone. Still as you say, it can be painted over, it is only paint on plaster and not woodchip wallpaper or anything (we got rid of all that when we moved in!).

Viewings are easy, we have given the EA keys to do viewings whilst we are at work, and have agreed to do viewings ourselves on saturdays as the EA get booked up and we didn't want people to not be able to view on weekends. We have not refused a viewing so far and have even had viewings arranged at short notice (same day). As you say, more viewings = bigger chance of selling.

dander your thoughts were right on the money really, I agree with all of your points

So I guess we'll see what this week brings with the reduced price, we might look at getting some alternative photos for the living area and if we're still in the same situation in a few weeks time perhaps re-assess the red walls...

Thanks! :beer: