If/When to Switch Agent

CaptainPilot

I'm currently thinking about whether I should switch agent. We've had the current one for about 2 months now and we've had 13 viewings so far. There was an influx of viewers when we went on the market and another when we lowered the price. If I'm honest, I shouldn't have lowered the price as early as I did but at that point I was foolish having found a house I really want to buy. Ultimately that all fell through and now I'm wondering what to do. In terms of price, we're in a block of flats and are the lowest priced flat in that block (for *roughly* the same, they all have the same amount of bedrooms, garage, etc)

The current agents are new to the area in general and have an office in one of the high streets a little further away from us by a few miles. Our local high street, about 2 minutes walk away, has about six other agents and so we're thinking of having one a little closer, firstly just to ensure we have an agent we can pop over to, to hand over keys and speak to, etc; and also to get more eyes on it from people who are looking for houses in the area. All that said, I'm aware that the online presence is more important and we'd get that either way.

Ultimately I'm not sure what to do. Is the agent I'm with likely to have run out of their own contacts and thus switching to another might give us another boost? Obviously our current agent is very keen to keep us when I said we were thinking of moving and the agent we're thinking of moving too is very keen on us moving on? I constantly flip flop to believing the promise from the current agent that there's not much extra to be done right now and listening to the new one.

Any advice? Should I just hold out with the current one?

G_M

What websites have they placed you on?
How does the website look?
How's their customer service?

sheff6107

Your question really is "we're desperate to sell and can't understand why it hasn't sold in only 2 months".

Post your Rightmove listing for opinions.

Alaska567

If there is sufficient general buyer demand in your area and your current agent has listed your property on rightmove and zoopla (which is where nearly everyone looks nowadays, even if some also pass by agents' offices) and if you're not getting interest now even at the 'lowest' price in your block of flats then the issue is almost certainly you're priced too high. I note you say "roughly" the same number of bedrooms. If any of the competition have an extra bedroom, even if it is in not as good overall standard as yours, it would still be worth more money than yours in normal circumstances. You have to make sure you're priced right if a buyer has to sacrifice a bedroom to buy yours. As someone who has been househunting, what agent a seller uses doesn't make any difference as long as it's on Rightmove etc (though I avoid Foxtons if I can!). If the other flats in your block are also struggling to sell (assuming they're not overpriced) there may be a general issue with demand for your particular block and nothing to do with your flat in particular e.g. ex-council and not priced to reflect this especially if there are non council or more desirable options close by.

CaptainPilot

I guess it's less I'm desperate and more "this is my first time selling, I'm an absolute novice at this, so have no idea whether those are good numbers."

Either way, here is my right move link...

[]rightmove[]/property-for-sale/property-65291126.html
(Can't post direct link due to this being a new account)

CaptainPilot

Alaska567 wrote: »

If there is sufficient general buyer demand in your area and your current agent has listed your property on rightmove and zoopla (which is where nearly everyone looks nowadays, even if some also pass by agents' offices) and if you're not getting interest now even at the 'lowest' price in your block of flats then the issue is almost certainly you're priced too high. I note you say "roughly" the same number of bedrooms. If any of the competition have an extra bedroom, even if it is in not as good overall standard as yours, it would still be worth more money than yours in normal circumstances. You have to make sure you're priced right if a buyer has to sacrifice a bedroom to buy yours. As someone who has been househunting, what agent a seller uses doesn't make any difference as long as it's on Rightmove etc (though I avoid Foxtons if I can!). If the other flats in your block are also struggling to sell (assuming they're not overpriced) there may be a general issue with demand for your particular block and nothing to do with your flat in particular e.g. ex-council and not priced to reflect this especially if there are non council or more desirable options close by.

That was a grammar fail on my part. They are all roughly the same with the same number of bedrooms. The differences are the layout and the sizing. Some have a bigger bedrooms compared to mine with slightly smaller ones with a larger living room.

For my particular block, one flat has sold recently (by the agent we're thinking of moving too), two are newer and one has been around a while

Alaska567

CaptainPilot wrote: »

I guess it's less I'm desperate and more "this is my first time selling, I'm an absolute novice at this, so have no idea whether those are good numbers."

Either way, here is my right move link...

[]rightmove[]/property-for-sale/property-65291126.html
(Can't post direct link due to this being a new account)

Your issue may be that a 2 bed in your very own block sold just 2 months ago with an asking price 20k lower than yours. There was also another one which sold recently with an asking price in region of 180k. Yes house prices in a buoyant market rise over time, but as a buyer there's no way I would buy a flat where an equivalent had sold for 20k less just 2 months prior. The price is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay and I can see as you mentioned that there are other flats more expensive than yours that are still for sale. I would ask your agent whether any flats similar to yours have actually sold for over 190k.

Crashy_Time

Link available?

Crashy_Time

greatgimpo wrote: »

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65291126.html

Doesn`t work for me that link

Crashy_Time

Is there an actual link?

hazyjo

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65291126.html


Front http bit was wrong.