To stay on the market or not...

B19jon_2

Hi all,

We went on the market in March this year, trying to sell my 2 bedroom ground floor flat. We had 3 agents out, all gave valuations of £145k, so went on for this, as it seemed to fit in with other prices in the are. In order for our move to be financially viable to afford where we are moving too, we need to achieve a £130k offer.

It now appears the market in flats in this area is declining quickly, and having going from being significantly cheaper than others at £145, we are now mid-field at £135, with other properties offering more for less.

My question is, is it worth sticking on the market at £135k until we can afford to drop it further or the market picks up (wifes preferred option as this was originally my flat and she is desperate to move and thinks we might still get an offer), or come off, save, and re-launch in the new year?

If we did come off, how long would the EPC be valid for?

Thanks for your help,

Jon

tyllwyd

I'd say it really comes down to how eager you are to sell, and how much it bothers you that the flat is on the market. I have no idea whether it would sell in the spring, and what the market might have done by then, but it is certain that if it is off the market it definitely won't sell. So if you want to have any chance of selling on the short term you have to stick it out. At the moment, it seems pretty general that prices have fallen a bit, so it does also depend on whether in your opinion they will stablise, or whether they will have dropped significantly by the spring.

avenida

EPC certificates stay valid for 10 years no matter how ofter you put it on or off the market

Mentally it is draining having your house on the market, Ive had mine on for 11 months with 5 viewings and have been dropping the price so much and still nothing.

Thing is staying where you are your wife is unhappy, so why not even try to revamp your flat, change agent, retake photos, or even post on here for a bit of input on what to change? I got loads of good advice when I posted mine for tips and it was helpful!

Hope something happens soon for you as emotionally it is hard

Eric1

B19jon wrote: »

In order for our move to be financially viable to afford where we are moving too, we need to achieve a £130k offer.

are sellers in that area also waiting to achieve March prices?

B19jon wrote: »

It now appears the market in flats in this area is declining quickly, and having going from being significantly cheaper than others at £145, we are now mid-field at £135, with other properties offering more for less.

then you have no chance until they are all sold

B19jon_2

Thanks all,

Good to know about the EPC, thanks for that.

I agree about having no chance at present, unfortunately houses are doing far better than flats. We would be pushing ourselves to get where we want to go (looking at 85-90% ltv mortgage, so we really can't drop lower.

myhouse_2

Assuming you're planning to move up the ladder to a bigger house, I would consider taking it off the market and waiting for prices to stabilise. It's not guaranteed that house prices will come down, but the balance of evidence suggests they will. If you're buying a bigger house the drop in price will more than cancel out the reduced selling price of your existing house and allow you to have a better LTV with a better interest rate.