Is it too soon to drop price?

hottdang1

Hey all

We listed our property two weeks ago and quickly had 3 viewings which lead to one offer a touch on the low side (who since went awol and agent tells us he cannot get hold of him)

We're in a popular area in the catchment for the best junior school around with a equally good secondary school next to that undergoing a massive rebuild - completing this year
Put that with the history of how quick things sell around here (terraced properties like ours) - we know we're in a good place to sell

since those 3 viewings - all positive feedback in line with our thinking but we've seen nothing in 10 days

The agent is going to try and get people in over weekend but my thinking is to drop the price next week

We found a house that is exactly what we need but worried we'll lose it as no offer on ours to commence proceedings

That seller knows we're interested but that doesn't mean much

Should I drop price?

We're on for 325 with a mid terrace 3 bed - the offer was 312 so I was thinking coming down to 315?

There's another house on for 309 on the estate which looks pretty messy - even left junk everywhere in the fotos but they do have a garage - again looks a right state

Thx

AnotherJoe

Leave it as it is but tell the EA you are open to reasonable offers.

dc197

Way too soon unless you are desperate to shift it promptly.
If you had had no viewings or no offers it might be different.
Three viewings and one offer is a good ratio, IMO.

GaggingOrder

I agree with the others above. Leave it else people will wonder what's wrong to make you discount so quickly. Just make it clear to the agent that you're open to offers in that region and that will help them to encourage potential viewers to come and have a look. There will be people who might be able to stretch to 315, for example, who won't bother viewing if the agent says it's 325 or nothing.

hottdang1

Thx all - appreciate the advice - quite reassuring

I'll talk to the agent tomorrow

All the best

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

How many agents did you get initial quotes from? Where did this one sit?

ElsieMonkey

GaggingOrder wrote: »

I agree with the others above. Leave it else people will wonder what's wrong to make you discount so quickly. Just make it clear to the agent that you're open to offers in that region and that will help them to encourage potential viewers to come and have a look. There will be people who might be able to stretch to 315, for example, who won't bother viewing if the agent says it's 325 or nothing.

But the majority of people won't even get as far as speaking to the agent if it doesn't fall within their price bracket when searching on Rightmove etc.

I'd say you want to be the most competitively priced WITHIN your price bracket on the online sites. Have a look at what these price brackets are on Rightmove/Zoopla etc.

Be really realistic with yourself about comparable properties. You say the one available that's cheaper than yours is presented badly but it DOES have a garage. A property with a garage is worth more,, money-wise than a tidy house without a garage, I would say (within reason).

Have you looked at the actual prices comparable properties have actually sold for recently (rather than what they are listed for)? And how quickly these took to sell?

We sold our flat recently in 2 weeks. First week we had it up for 430k, had 5 viewers on the sat, all couldn't fault the flat except they all felt it didn't offer value for money (we used eMoov and they have a great online dashboard with email feedback system where viewers can write feedback and leave 5 star rating for value, condition and location). So no offers after the first weekend. I then promptly done some more research, looking at the market VERY objectively and reduced the price to 415k ready for the second weekend. Another 5 viewers, all again very good feedback BUT this time also 4-5 stars for value (previous week we were getting 1-2 stars for value) and 2 offers (of which we have accepted one).

In our area (we're in NW London suburb), from my research 415k seemed to be the magic number. Properties at this price were sold within a month, and also placed us competitively in our price band on Rightmove etc. I wouldn't drop the price in desperation, but if you do some really objective research and think actually, you could be more competitively priced, then I say don't hold off reducing the price. You make your biggest impact and get the most exposure/interest in the first few weeks of coming on to the market - don't waste that window of time.

AnnaDanishek

To my thinking you should wait for 2 weeks more, maybe your buyer is somewhere close))

Grenage

If you're willing to post the rightmove link, people are normally willing to suggest if it's well prices, or a bit on the high side.

frugalsmurf

From a buyer's perspective, we are viewing houses within 5k of our highest price we can afford. As I'd hate to fall in love with a house and it not be negotiable on price.

Can you make it clear to estate agents you're open to sensible offers? Or even put "offers invited" on it.

I'd agree don't reduce the price yet as people will probably offer anyway and if you're at your lowest price then it will be harder.

cashbackproblems

In my experience (based in London) 3 weeks is a long time for something to not be sold if its desirable....when it is first listed is when it appears at the top of the online searches and after a few weeks you get less coverage, however it depends on how hard the EA is pushing it to its buyers list.

Best thing is to see what comparable houses are listing for (and more importantly are they selling)