First Time Seller - Advice Required Please

southwales

Hi all

I'm new to selling a house and having browsed through these forums I was hoping to get some thoughts and advice from you lovely people!


Background

At the start of February 2014 we put our 2 bed semi-detached house on the market with Whitegates for £122,000.

Progress to date

Having received no viewings on our house within the first two weeks we asked for the photos on Rightmove to be updated and we reduced the asking price to £119,950. Unfortunately we still haven't received any viewings after a month of being on the market.

Taking matters into my own hands I have listed the property on a number of sites over the past couple of weeks and have uploaded some new photos onto these in an attempt to generate interest. I even put a poster up in work where we have over 1000 employees.

Following the above listings I received an offer through Gumtree to rent the property out which is not a viable option for us at the moment. Otherwise we have not received any requests for viewings.

Statistics

Rightmove: Conversion rate is 4.1% with 262 extra detail views.
Loot.com: 371 views and 2 clicks.
Freeads: 47 clicks
Preloved: 30 views (5 a day)
Property Sell: 32 views
Gumtree: 9 views

Competition / Sold Prices

We have some competition in the area in that our direct neighbours are asking for£128,950 for a very similar property. I believe this is way overpriced and as such not much competition especially as it's over the stamp duty threshold. A similar property across the road however is asking for £120,000 after their neighbour sold at just under this amount a year or so ago. Both houses have been on the market since the end of October / November 2013.

Out of interest, our neighbours bought their property for £127000 in 2007 (which previously sold for £117000 in 2005). Another property in the street sold for around £118000 in 2010.



We are located in a desirable area with good bus routes and a number of schools so I'm not sure what else we can do to help speed things along apart from lowering the price although we feel what we are asking for is realistic.

I would really appreciate any advice any criticisms as it's difficult to look at your own home objectively!

Thanks in advance.

dell12

If you're feeling brave I'd post the Rightmove link on here for feedback.

Good photos and a floorplan make a big difference to getting viewers through the door in places the market isn't so hot.

EDIT - The only recent sale on the street was in Dec 2013 when number 77 was sold for £109,000. Interesting that there seem to be 3 properties on the market almost next to each other...

southwales

dell12 wrote: »

If you're feeling brave I'd post the Rightmove link on here for feedback.

Good photos and a floorplan make a big difference to getting viewers through the door in places the market isn't so hot.

EDIT - The only recent sale on the street was in Dec 2013 when number 77 was sold for £109,000. Interesting that there seem to be 3 properties on the market almost next to each other...

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I am unable to post links as I'm a new user but it's number 52. We do have floor plans and 12 photos some of which we took ourselves.

I can't speak for the neighbours but the reason we're moving is because we have been at the property for over 8 years and we're looking for something bigger now that the market seems to be picking up a bit in our area. The amount of work being restarted on new builds in the area over the past 6 months could also have prompted people to start selling.

It's also quite difficult to compare prices directly as there are so many different types of property in the estate some of which are 2 bed terrace, 2 bed semi, 3 bed semi etc.

PollyOnAMission

Is it this one?
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29228757.html

cattie

If the link posted by polly is the house, then I'd definitely get the ea to take better pictures. I'd like to see less ceiling featured & more of the actual room/floor , as in 1st one of the living room. Textured ceilings are not for everybody & could put some people off of even bothering to make an appointment to view. You need to get people to want to view & perhaps they will fall in love with the house once they get to see it & get a 'feel' for it.

I can't see that a picture of the bathroom door is going to help get viewers so desperate to view your house, so lose it.

The 1st picture of the kitchen isn't too bad, but the 2nd one makes it look quite gloomy & depressing. Open the blinds fully to let as much daylight in as possible & don't focus on the boiler. Boilers on show in kitchens or any other room for that matter are one of my all time hates. They are not beautiful things with all those pipes etc. surrounding them, so photographer should not treat them like a feature.

Pic of main bedroom makes it look quite cramped, when really, going by the size as listed, it's an average sized double bedroom. Oh & smooth out the duvet cover before allowing pictures to be taken.

I don't think the pic of the 2nd bedroom gives any idea of the space on offer, it's a double bedroom, so should at least demonstrate that it's a decent sized room rather than a small space with a futon shoved in.

If you haven't received any viewings, then it has to be down to price, fully researched what has sold if any in your area recently.

Are 2 beds rare or common in your area? Where I live 2 bed properties are like gold dust, so there usually is quite a lot of interest when something with 2 double beds comes onto the market.

southwales

Thanks - yes, that's the house.

southwales

cattie wrote: »

If the link posted by polly is the house, then I'd definitely get the ea to take better pictures. I'd like to see less ceiling featured & more of the actual room/floor , as in 1st one of the living room. Textured ceilings are not for everybody & could put some people off of even bothering to make an appointment to view. You need to get people to want to view & perhaps they will fall in love with the house once they get to see it & get a 'feel' for it.

I can't see that a picture of the bathroom door is going to help get viewers so desperate to view your house, so lose it.

The 1st picture of the kitchen isn't too bad, but the 2nd one makes it look quite gloomy & depressing. Open the blinds fully to let as much daylight in as possible & don't focus on the boiler. Boilers on show in kitchens or any other room for that matter are one of my all time hates. They are not beautiful things with all those pipes etc. surrounding them, so photographer should not treat them like a feature.

Pic of main bedroom makes it look quite cramped, when really, going by the size as listed, it's an average sized double bedroom. Oh & smooth out the duvet cover before allowing pictures to be taken.

I don't think the pic of the 2nd bedroom gives any idea of the space on offer, it's a double bedroom, so should at least demonstrate that it's a decent sized room rather than a small space with a futon shoved in.

If you haven't received any viewings, then it has to be down to price, fully researched what has sold if any in your area recently.

Are 2 beds rare or common in your area? Where I live 2 bed properties are like gold dust, so there usually is quite a lot of interest when something with 2 double beds comes onto the market.

Thanks for the constructive feedback - appreciate it. I hadn't even thought of some of these and they are all valid points.

As for 2 beds in the area there are a few around here but most seem to be 3 beds.

brightonman123

I would remover purchase price from OP, in case anyone searches your postcode background- will give them better purchasing power..