Advice on selling - 2 others on road also on market

andidb

Hi all. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice or tips on selling when there are multiple houses on the market within a couple of doors of each other. We have been on the market for a couple of weeks, a house 3 doors up has been up for about a month and now our next door neighbours have told us their house is going on the market on Tuesday. The house 3 doors up was on the market for £174,995 but reduced their price to £169,995 when ours went on. Ours is on for £172,500 (price decided before we knew the other one was bringing their price down) and next door is going on for £169,995.

Do you have any ideas on how we can differentiate our house, make it more saleable or adjust the price to make it more attractive? Are there any incentives we can use with the agent to make them work that bit harder (the other 2 are on with different agents)?

Thanks in advance!

Doozergirl

Buyers will buy the house they want. The agent can't work harder on your house than the others if they aren't selling all of them, so you can't incentivise them

You have to make sure yours is as great as can possibly be, make sure the EAs details are as great as they can possibly be and, if the houses are the same size, I suggest you undercut the other two. It's dog eat dog out there.

Pennylane

If it were me, I'd make sure I had a lovely front door, a clean and tidy approach to it and some flowers/shrubs about. It needs to look "loved".

Are the other houses on the same side of road as yours - is your garden maybe sunnier than theirs? Are your immediate neighbours properties in good condition? Sometimes houses can be identical but you only need to be next to a scruffy one and it casts yours in a bad light. Is parking any better at yours? There must be something which is better about yours.

andidb

Thanks so much for the feedback. The other two are on the same side of the road, one next door and one 2 doors up. We all have on street parking so there's not alot we can do there. Equally we all have the same length gardens. That's a great idea about the front door and flowers... will definitely try and do that asap. If you have any other ideas on how to differentiate please do let me know as it is incredibly helpful!

DannyboyMidlands

Flowers?! Come on people, we're talking about spending the best part of 200 grand. It ain't gonna come down to who has the nicest flowers. Dropping yours to £162,500 is much more likely to do the trick.

ceridwen

I would agree re the flowers - ie its not going to make any difference to the price.

At that price I automatically assumed that its a first time buyer house - because that price would be in my area.

In your area however - well..we cant tell if you are in a cheap area (in which case it could be a "final home" level house) or a dear area (like mine or worse).

If its not a first-time buyer house - then the would-be buyers will have a bit of "savvy" to them (having probably been caught out by the seller of their first house into buying a "pig in a poke" or one that at least hid the defects to some extent). Even first-time buyers might have a "savvy" older person with them - who knows what sort of things sellers might not have done/might have tried to hide.

Either way - your potential buyers might be able to spot any defects in either your house or the neighbours' houses. So - make sure your house doesnt have any defects (not just the "cosmetic" coat of paint everywhere - but any work that needs doing has been done) on the one hand OR check out whether the neighbours are trying to hide defects on the other hand (eg you know their house needs rewiring or a quick "open doors" on the kitchen units will reveal they are beyond repainting/changing doors and need ripping out).

Henry_P_Chester

Basically you need to offer better value than the other two. Either ensure your house is in better condition or undercut their prices. Or both. No buyer is going to buy a house when there is a cheaper identical one in the same street. Or one priced the same in better condition.

Davesnave

If you really want to sell, and can afford to, then undercutting the others substantially may be the only way to go.

So much depends on your area, and comparables if it's a city, not just your street. In some places, sales are pitifully weak, so having a choice, buyers are looking for value and being picky.

Unless there is something glaringly obvious about your property, either good or bad, you may just be one of a large group, barely remembered, and that's if you're getting viewings. You don't say whether you are or not, but if a month goes by after hitting the market, and you have only one or two, that's an indication that you're not standing out from the crowd.

Probably not what you want to hear!:( Of course it makes sense to declutter and titivate, but if people think those things alone will swing it for them, then they may be living in hope for a long time, rather than living in their next house.

The_Drama_Llama

What's the status of the other sellers? If you can show that you offer the best chance for a quick sale then that will help (assuming the prices of all three houses are the same). Be prepared to be the end of the chain and move into rented. It may help.

googler

Henry_P_Chester wrote: »

Basically you need to offer better value than the other two. Either ensure your house is in better condition or undercut their prices. Or both. No buyer is going to buy a house when there is a cheaper identical one in the same street. Or one priced the same in better condition.

Exactly what I was going to say, with the addition of;

Nobody will pay more for yours than either of the other two without a VERY compelling reason.

DavidHayton

Price is the most important consideration. And if it is a buyer's market in your area, a buyer may decide that they aren't going to offer what any of you are asking.

How would you (and your neighbours) react if a buyer made an enquiry at £150k to all three of you simultaneously? Probaly all three would say "get lost"! The buyer then comes back at £151k and then tells all three of you that they will raise the price by £1k each day until someone bites (or the buyer reaches their secret limit and walks away).

Might be good to talk with your neighbours.
David