Should we drop the price?

mark5

If a house is priced correctly it will sell, i am seeing houses sell in the area where I live in less than a week while others sit on the market for months, the only difference is the price.

If a house is overpriced I dont see how it will do any better with another agent.

RX-78

I think it depends on how desparate you need to sell. As I had to move to different part of the country, we had to sell/buy within 9 months. So we agreed to cut the losses and advertise for 4K less then the next similar specced property in the area. But thats because we calculated by not selling (and keeping an empty property with mortgage), and perhaps having to move to a rented and then moving again when the property sells, we would easily loose more then 4K.

p.s. the EA for my vendour was a small independant but she was great. Didn't push any services, always on time, made time for 2nd viewing at short notice, asked about my circumstances and politely requested to see evidence of our ability to buy when we put the offer in. So may be a big EA isn't always good when they all advertise on rightmove?

tyllwyd

I'd say that if you feel that the current price is realistic bearing in mind similar poperties nearby, and you aren't being forced to move but you need to achieve close to the current asking price in order to make a move practical, you'd be better off sitting tight for the moment and seeing what happens. Having got as far as putting the house on the market now, I'd say wait and see if anything happens in September at least - there is always a chance it might get busier when we are out of the holiday season.

marmitequeen

Why not post your RM link and we'll have a look and give you some objective feedback as to how your house is presented? However, I'd say tell your EA now that you will be moving from them when the contract ends - they'll either pull out the stops to get you a buyer before you go or give up on you or be truthful about the price of your property.

I love RX-78's idea of getting a friend to be a fake viewer - I'd certainly do that in future. We got all the local agents to show us round houses they had on their books before we selected who we'd sell with and that certainly helped drop a few from our list of who we even had round to estimate for us - maybe also worth doing that before you decide who to go with next time?

It's tough out there at the moment, but possible if you are serious about moving. Good luck x

tawse57

Jen2girls wrote: »

I'm on the outskirts of Manchester, the market is flooded here. I came back from my holiday to find 10 new pages of properties had been added to rightmove for my surrounding area and I was only away for a week!

I read an article a few weeks back about Manchester have a huge glut of flats that have been built.

I have no idea how this affects the house market but I would guess that people who can not afford the house prices are buying flats if they are going cheap now.

In my part of the o!!!!ry correctly priced houses are selling but 2 or 3 of the EAs are hugely over-valuing and some properties I have looked at have been on the market for 5 years.

I still think that we are in a situation where many sellers and EAs have no idea that the housing market has turned. I think that someone wishing to sell has to drop their price considerably now BUT then has to go and knock down the price of the house they wish to by by a similar amount.

This is not financial advice.

Jen2girls

Thank you for the input. We had 4 valuations done and all came out with the same valuation give or take 5k so we went in the middle. I do think that prices have dropped since then though near me. I think its a combination of the market, EA and the price that is the problem. I know everyone must say this but its genuinely not the presentation. Everyone who came round to value it described it as immaculate and suggested there was nothing more we could do to increase the saleability or value. The house itself does have a limited market, in that its a mid terrace and the garden and driveway are to the rear but there is an access road in between the house and the garden. As such it is not ideal for young families, yet is not in the price range of most FTB. We are looking at young professionals or older couples who are downsizing. I guess from reading other discussions on here that the downstairs bathroom isn't helping matters either

tawse57

If you take 20K off the asking price will it sell?

If so, what is stopping you going to the seller of the house you want to buy and offering 20K less than their asking price?

People are of the mindset now that house prices only ever go up. I am truly shocked how so many people have forgotten the massive housing crash of the early 1990s.

Prices do fall - if your house is not selling then it must be priced too high so you have to bite the bullet I guess and drop the price... but that does not mortally wound you... it simply means you have to go and negotiate a similar reduction in whatever you wish to buy... and so house prices will drop... and the cycle will eventually begin again...

This is not financial advice.

RX-78

I've read time & time again the decor/cleanliness of the house does not add value to the house - just makes it easier to sell. If not enough people are walking through your door, then its either the price (more likely as people will look on web sites now days) or the EA (I dont think they are that important in pulling the punters in today).

johnny_storm

I think 7 weeks is a short period of time, its also a time of economic uncertainty.

puddy

MegaMiniMouse wrote: »

I mortgaged my house 3 years ago at a mere 85% of valuation, but today it is 'worth' less than the outstanding mortgage, and prices are set to fall - I need to sell it within the next year, but I am not hopeful of receiving any offers at all - my calculations so far range upwards from a shortfall of 30% and I will be very surprised if I get anywhere near breaking even. I wish I had the confidence to contemplate a single-figured margin of less than 10%!

I have been roundly abused on this site for my unrealistic expectations, but actually, my expectations are low-to-non-existent.

I think you would be wise to adopt a similar stance...

i would agree with this, op needs to either accept that the price needs to go down a lot (depending on recent sales info for the area) or accept that they are not going to sell and take it off the market. i cant get my head round people that put their property on the market but 'wont' (not cant) go beyond a certain price, well if you're determined not to, then dont and take it off the market