On market for nearly 5 weeks but no viewings

KaratePigeon

Hello,
Can I join all you house sellers please.

I know it's a difficult market to sell in at the moment, but we have been on for nearly 5 weeks now and haven't had a single request for a viewing, what's going on?

As it's a small house I guess we are waiting for a first-time-buyer and there aren't that many of them around, but other 2 bed properties in the area are at least getting a few viewings. I think the price is ok, we had 3 agent valuations (135k, 135k, and 140k but went with 135k as thought it was more realistic). There haven't been any sales in our street for a while, but a similar property in a nearby street with the same asking price as ours sold within 10 days! (for 5k below asking price).

I'm going to spend some time this weekend prettying it up and hopefully get some photos taken when the weather is nicer as I'm sure it'd make a difference! Anyway, I can see stuff I think I should change, like put away some of the kids toys, going to paint the fence and already have added some flowers to the front garden and cleaned the conservatory roof

BitterAndTwisted

The exterior pictures make the property look rather unloved. There's a summerhouse/office but no interior pic. Why no pic of the master bedroom or the bathroom?

PasturesNew

Clean that conservatory roof too.
And get a photo without the birds, they're offputting.

hcb42

Major declutter needed..including making the conservatory feel like a living space, not an area for cages and toys. I know it is a home and so on, but you can do a lot with presentation here, and cheer up the front as well. It's a nice house, but it is hard to see!

BitterAndTwisted

That listing also needs a floor-plan

Yorkie1

I don't think the photos do maximum justice to the house. It feels a little cluttered and the rooms a little small - which they're not unduly, when you look at the dimensions.

The childrens' toys all over the place are a little distracting as they are, by their nature, quite brightly coloured and make the rest of the spaces look small. The house details make much of the views from the rear but there's no photo of those. There's no piccie of the main bedroom and the second bedroom photo is blurred. No piccie of the bathroom either. The aviary in the conservatory again makes it feel cramped - probably just the angle. What is the structure behind the hedge / on the skyline in photo 6?

The decor inside is lovely, I don't think it's anything to do with that.

I'm a little confused also by the references to the summerhouse. The introduction to the listing implies it is included. Then the listing near the end says it is included if the price is right. That would make me feel uncertain about what to offer, how much extra you would demand for it to be left. As a buyer I'd prefer more clarity on that aspect.

Otherwise, it must just be down to price.

inspirespirit

The conservatory is a definite plus, so make the most of it. See if you can get family or friends to look after your birds. Clear it out - stage it with a dining table/chairs and lay it with nice crockery.

Put pots of flowers around front to make it more welcoming.

My son sold a 3 bedroom house with a garage for 139k in West Swindon 12 months ago and prices have dropped since then, so you need to get your house looking fab for it to sell at 135k for 2 bed.

BeardedWonder

Something is only worth what people are prepared to pay. All the EA valuations may have been optimistic.

Looking at some comparable houses (admitdely for £5k more) you could get:

a period 2 bed semi
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-18917043.html

or a 3 bed house & conservatory
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-19034850.html

Sorry, think a price drop is needed.

KaratePigeon

Thanks for the replies,
I must admit, they are all things I expected to be picked up on. The pictures were taken/chosen by the estate agent - they did take pics of the master bedroom and bathroom but I don't know why they aren't on there - they are nothing exciting but clean and tidy so I suppose I should get them added so at least it's not like I'm trying to hide anything. Don't know why the pic of the other bedroom is blurry, think I should take my own photos next time I will get them to add a floor plan too.

Yeah, we have too much stuff now there are 4 of us, that's why we need to move. Really trying to hide things away but no room - did think of getting some self-storage somewhere but it's money out of an already tight budget (would it really help sell the house, if so it'd be worth it?) And yeah my mum thinks the birds are off-putting to some people - I'll make sure they are not in the photo next time. The structure behind the hedge - it's a temporary security fence as there are workmen in the playing field - only putting in some drainage, nothing major but yeah that's unfortunate and not sure I can do anything about it at the moment. other than not get it in the picture I suppose!

And yes I agree the wording about the 'summerhouse' isn't very clear, but that's how the agent suggested it and we haven't changed it. It's a garden office and we'd be happy to leave it, but if it isn't adding any value onto the house (agent thinks it doesn't) we thought we might as well take it - not to be mean or anything, but more because we will probably need one in our new house anyway and won't have any spare cash if we accept a low offer. We weren't sure whether to not put it on the listing, then use it as a negotiating tool when we got viewers in, but decided it might attract more viewers to mention it so we did. Any suggestions for better wording, or should we just include it? Would that be the best thing to change first, before we drop the price?

KaratePigeon

And yeah I know we are competing against some 3-beds for a similar price, though they are in worse areas.

Thanks for the suggestions anyway, I will get a few changes made to the listing and see how that goes before we drop the price.

shisslemopp

Like the others have said, a general de-cluttering and a tidy up of outside is needed. What we did (as we have 2 children under 5, so lots toys aswell) was to move toys out of view for the photos. And anything else that you wouldn't want in them. The initial photos are what draws the potential buyer in to view your house, so make them as appealing as possible.

Is there any way the estate agent can enhance the photos they've taken? What I mean is to do some levelling (brightness/contrast) that sort of thing? it makes a world of difference to them. Also, do they not use a wide angled lense/fisheye lense for the photos? this gives a much better view of the rooms if they can.

With regards to the summerhouse/home office, I think you need to decide if you're going to take it or leave it and stick with it. You could then keep the price as is, or reduce it a little (by the cost of summerhouse maybe) and then if someone was interested in it when they came to view, you can say you'll leave it for that price.

I really hope you have some luck with it.