8 other Houses for Sale in My Street- what shall I do?

kittygalore_2

I seem to have an unusual dilemma - not sure what to do about it!
Our house went on the market 2 weeks ago. We had 3 viewers the first weekend, but nothing since.
The agents have done a good brochure, given the house a prominent window spot and have put it on rightmove - with lots of extra pictures. It is due to go in the local paper this week. They have emailed it to buyers and sent details out by post - or they say they have!

The house is a pretty 2-bed Edwardian with lots of 'kerb appeal' and no work needed (original features but with modern touches) in a lovely road in East London, but the main problem is that there are at least seven other houses in the same road on the market as well, including the house next door! And it's only a small street.
Some have been on the market for at least A YEAR; the one next door has been up for 6 months (but they all need work to some degree.)
All but two are up with the same agent as us, as they are the main agent in the area - if they can't achieve a sale, the others have no chance!
There is actually no sinister reason for all these houses being up at the same time - nothing untoward is happening in the area and it really is just co-incidence, but now I think the road may be developing a stigma which is putting viewers off and I'm really worried that our house may suffer, even though it is actually one of the best in the street!

We've taken a year to get it ready to sell (we planned this before the others even came on the market!) worked really hard, spent a lot of money and taken care to present it as well as we can before marketing it, but all our efforts seem wasted because of this situation with the other properties.

Am I worrying prematurely? Should I be getting the agent to work harder? (although I don't really see what more they can do.) There just seems to be no interest in it, even though the price seems to be set at just the right level - not too high, not too low.
I did voice my concerns to the agent before we put it on the market, but they just said it wouldn't be a problem - but of course they would say that.
Anyone got any thoughts or words of encouragement (or otherwise) please?
Cheers

divadee

Is your house a lot more expensive than the other houses in the street? It could be a number of reasons, but it really is a buyers market at the moment they have plenty of choice to look around and knock the price down on properties.

nelly_2

Every street I go down lately there are houses for sale. Probably the simple answer is your house isnt worth the asking price, lower the price and you will sell it.

Trollydolly_2

Ive just bought my first house and honestly the thing that got me was that people were expecting far too high a price for what they were selling.

Depends how quick you want to sell really.

I went to look at 20 houses over one weekend and honestly the difference between prices was staggering! I cant believe some people thought they could get that price.
In the end i went with the house that was on at a very realistic price, the seller wanted a quick sale and had put it on at a lower price.

Luckily i was the first to see it as it went on the market that day and at the end of the that day my offer was accepted and it was withdrawn from sale!

I would suggest you or a friend makes appointments to see other houses in the area to give you an idea of what u are up against and if your price is realistic or not.

Good Luck H xx

dougk_2

The fact that there are several houses for sale on the same street is the problem in itself.

People start, to think - why are all these houses for sale? - there must be a problem in this area! Hence people don't want to view.

What can you do. Yes you can try a lower price , but then some people will then think there is an even bigger problem. If your house is much lower than the rest then they will think what is the catch.

You can get a Kia for cheaper than a Ford, so why isn't everyone driving Kia's! or why do people buy from Next instead of ASDA? A lot of the problem is perception.

meanmachine_2

dougk wrote:

The fact that there are several houses for sale on the same street is the problem in itself.

People start, to think - why are all these houses for sale? - there must be a problem in this area! Hence people don't want to view.

What can you do. Yes you can try a lower price , but then some people will then think there is an even bigger problem. If your house is much lower than the rest then they will think what is the catch.

You can get a Kia for cheaper than a Ford, so why isn't everyone driving Kia's! or why do people buy from Next instead of ASDA? A lot of the problem is perception.

Oh dear Doug. You're struggling to answer this one.

"You could try to lower the asking price". Yeah? You think? Wow, genius.

THe fact is, ALL the houses in your street are overpriced. People can't afford them. Why should I, as an FTB, have to pay THREE times, say, what you paid for the same property? Especially given that interest rates have shot up in recent times.

The simple answer is that I'm not prepared to. Sorry.

meanmachine_2

dougk wrote:

You can get a Kia for cheaper than a Ford, so why isn't everyone driving Kia's! or why do people buy from Next instead of ASDA? A lot of the problem is perception.

But if a Ford had gone up from £6000 in 2001 to £18000 in 2005, I don't think people would want one of those either, do you?

You seem to be saying that, yes, keep your house price where it is, despite the lack of interest, because an over valuation gives your property kudos.

Nah.

dougk_2

You will have seen from this board that many people have sold/bought houses.

You will remember that prices rose in April (as you acknowledged in one of the posts).

Therefore the price may not be (and in my view is not) the issue here. Its the fact that several houses in the same street are for sale and I am saying that people are being put off by this fact.

So if the OP dropped the price by say 20k... does that not look suspecious to potential buyers? Remember that things that are too good to be true often are!

Interest rates are still low so stop complaining!

kittygalore_2

The houses in the street range from £205K to £240K. Ours is priced at £225K. I would have thought that quite reasonable for a period house in excellent condition in London, even in this present market, but perhaps I've got it wrong.
We've owned it for 3 years and have spent so much on it (vital work like windows, damp/woodwork, etc. not just cosmetic enhancement) that we would barely be breaking even at that price.
The price was the one recommended by our agent as it fell roughly in the middle of the range for the street and unlike the others, needs no money spent on it - a buyer could move straight in. We would be prepared to lower the price but even the ones at lower prices are not selling.
The one next door is on at £10K less but has still not sold. I've been inside - it's neglected, scruffy, cluttered, badly presented, doesn't even have a bath and needs at least that amount spent on it to bring it up to a standard that most people would find acceptable. The other houses up for sale in this street all have similar issues; some are on at higher prices than ours.
Lowering the price to £215K (which a buyer would then expect to lower even more) would mean that we could not afford to buy anywhere else.
And there surely can't be anywhere in London with houses (especially period properties like these in a good road) for sale at under £200K, which is presumably the route we would need to take to get a sale - or does anyone know different?

Thank you for all your views - pleez keep 'em coming.

Spendless

Hi

Are you actually getting viewers thru the door or not? What does the estate agents 'blurb' say about your property.

For example does the house next door say something like 'price to allow for further improvements/modernisation'

and does your say something like

'viewing a must, recently re-furbished to a very high standard'

If I was wanting to live in the area and I picked up 2 leaflets saying the above, depending on whether I wished to move straight in, or buy a cheaper property and do work myself I would then decide which property I'd prefer to see.

On the other hand if they are all described as

2 bedrooms, hall, living room, kitchen/diner it would make it harder for me to choose between the 8 without having to spend all my time going round each one.

Just my thoughts

kittygalore_2

Apart from the usual three 'rent-a-viewer' people that agents always seem to conjure up the day after your house goes on the market, we have had not a solitary soul through the door.

Re next door's blurb, there are no internal pictures and is no mention of price allowing for further improvements. Just gives room sizes, etc.

As for ours, it's described in great detail and yes, it says something on the lines of what you have suggested.