Why isn't my house selling?!

Anatidaephobia

I don't know the area but it does seem like the price is a stumbling block. Especially if there are other similar houses in the area for much cheaper - and those that are similar in price look bigger inside (even though they're probably not) and appear to need less work.

The house just looks too cluttered in the photos. The positioning of the sofas in the living room is a bit awkward and the books, dvds, keyboard, pet stuff, etc make the room look crowded. The kitchen and bathroom are fine - except that the angle of the kitchen photo is terrible, my eyes are immediately drawn to the knife block and the chopping boards, and the hanging saucepans and utensils add to the small/cluttered/crowded feeling the house already has.

I agree with the posters who said the master bedroom looks smaller due to the lack of bedside tables. It makes you assume there's no space for any more furniture than one bed. More plants/flowers for the garden wouldn't be a bad idea, maybe you can borrow some plant pots from family/friends - the photo of the garden makes it look very brown and a bit drab.

Basically it's a normal, cluttered home that isn't dressed to sell. If you're willing to give a few rooms a fresh coat of paint that would help, if not then declutter and reconsider the price.

circuit

Some of these comments are silly and/or rude. When I'm looking at houses, I don't look to see how high up the wall the TV is.

Doozergirl

Having just opened this thread for the first time and reading the comments before looking at the house, I have to say that I was quite pleasantly surprised! (Edit: Okay, I opened the wrong house )

It will be the price. Even a total wreck of a house will sell quickly if it is priced correctly. You need to find your marker.

Do you want to do work or drop the price - there's your question.

System

Going by some of the comments in this thread I'm surprised some of the people here ever found a house to live in!

jacko74

Walcott wrote: »

Going by some of the comments in this thread I'm surprised some of the people here ever found a house to live in!

Over the years I've dealt with quite a few strange people in my personal/work life but as a collective group I can honestly say 'househunters' are the most bizarre/ridiculous/puzzling set of human beings I've ever had the misfortune to encounter.

londonlydia

I think it's a mixture of what people have said here. There are two options: either drop price or spruce it up to sell.

In terms of the spruce up, personal taste is just that and most people aren't put off by the prospect of some redecorating. But, the clutter and open storage gives the impression that it's a house bursting at the seams. In your living room you have 2 large dark sofas, I would remove the one on your left as you go through the door as it does look awkward. Or put it in front of the bookshelves to make it look like a reading area...

Davesnave

I also looked at the[STRIKE] waffle[/STRIKE] comments first, so had a pleasant surprise.

(Thinks: "Thank God none of this lot will ever get to see inside mine!")

It is what it is: a modern box, just like many thousands of other modern boxes. No USP, so far as I can see.

To make it stand out, you either store half your stuff, do lots of tweaks, pray that your interior design skills aren't as cr*p as mine and hope the smoke & mirrors works...

......or you drop the price relative to the most competitive houses in the area.

madharrier

Most women wouldn't want to go to see all your clutter. Sort that out, take new pictures and try again at a lower price.

DRP

yep I agree with a lot of comments about the dated/drab/cluttered look to the photos.

If i was looking at the house I 'd want to redecorate every room and sort out the garden. Expensive and time-consuming.

If it was cheaper than comparable houses, i'd be interested.

Even if you don't do a thing to the house, get some pictures taken on a sunny day!

doctoroo

Hi again everyone!

I've made a few changes to the property (see second post in thread) since the original post, including lowering the price a bit, de-cluttering the rooms, re-shooting the photos and doing some painting in one room.

So...what's the consensus now - better? worse?!

Thanks for your advice

Rich