How much is this extra outside space worth?

grifferz

olias wrote: »

Ok, the reason I am asking, is that I have recently put my house on the market (House 2) at a price similar to that which several agents valued it at. Neighbour (House 1) has now put theirs on the market at £15000 less than mine!

Isn't that arguably a good thing? Your neighbour can't exactly disguise their lack of outside space, every viewer they get will notice your home, and you get to negotiate about the £15k.

I can only see this as bad if your neighbours house required a skilful viewer to spot why it is cheaper than yours and not a bargain. With no outside space it's pretty obvious why.

DaftyDuck

I'm not sure the garden alone isn't worth £15k.

It might seem an excessive valuation, but 4 bedroom, and townhouse.

One you can have people over in the summer, barbecue out, dry the washing, sunbathe naked (?:eek:), bury someone under the patio, grow some plants, stick the exercise bike outside, let the dog/cat/husband out, let the kids loose with toys ... all sorts of possibilities.

The other you can't. Nothing!

If it borders a park, open countryside, or has nearby allotments, maybe it's not worth such a price differential.... Otherwise it probably is.

Thing is, at a push I could be persuaded to buy yours. I'd never buy the other one, and any canny purchaser will realise the difficulty of selling on the other because of the narrowed market.

In fact, he might well be doing you a favour. Plenty of punters might see the interior of his house, like it, but the lack of garden will rule it out. Next viewing is yours... Oh, and summer is coming... supposedly. Who wants to buy a no-barbecue, no-garden, no-sunbathing property at this time of year?

No, stick with it, and you'll probably be OK. Just make sure the garden looks its best and try for sunny day viewings in daylight.

cattie

As house 2 only has a very small handkerchief size garden, I wouldn't exactly say that the garden would add a premium to the price.

Some people who have no interest in gardens, and there are some, such as me, who would find house 1 more appealing & even more so when compared to the asking price of house 2.

pinkshoes

As both are family homes with 4 bedrooms and neither has a decent sized outdoor space, then I would say they would be very similar in value, and the one with a little more outdoor space would perhaps be worth a little but not much more.

When you say £15k more, what is that as a percentage? Are these £300k houses (in which case, £15k might be ok...) or are they cheaper properties?

phoebe1989seb

Neither would attract me personally, being a fan of big gardens - but if I were content with only a small area of outside space I would prefer it to be somewhere useable, which yours is and I wouldn't even bother looking at the other house regardless of the price Furthermore, as other posters have commented, IMHO a four bed house would be expected to come with a garden of some sort - not just an area to store bins!

Ivana_Tinkle

I'd have thought having some kind of garden, as opposed to no garden at all (just a bin store) would add more than £15k to a 4-bed house. Your neighbour's price might well make yours look like a bargain.

Surely even people who don't like gardening and don't have kids would appreciate somewhere to dry washing, clean their bike, or sit out on a sunny afternoon.

I wouldn't drop your price - wait and see. There must be lots of potential buyers who wouldn't even consider a house without some kind of outdoor space. I know I wouldn't, no matter how cheap it was.

Strapped

I seem to remember that Olias is from Cumbria though - so if said townhouse is on the banks of a lake or something then there's probably enough "nearby" outside space that a small bbq area would be sufficient.

olias

Thanks all for your comments so far. As I say, price is in the £200000 ballpark, so difference of about 7.5%.
There is outdoor space nearby, but not right on the doorstep.

DaftyDuck wrote: »

he might well be doing you a favour. Plenty of punters might see the interior of his house, like it, but the lack of garden will rule it out. Next viewing is yours...

I am hoping this scenario is one that plays out.....:)

I feel a little less shell shocked now thanks to your comments so far. Guess its just a wait and see....

Olias

Moonraker71

If the price is in the 200k region, I would say a £15k premium sounds reasonable for what you've described. Where I live space is at such a premium you could probably add on that much for a decent balcony! 20 x 12 is a decent enough, usable space. It's not the same as having a full-on garden, but as you say, you've done it up and made it nice so it's like having an extra room in the summertime. Can you access it directly from the kitchen or lounge?