So tired of denial of the state of the housing market

getmore4less

I do the more like this and see what the samples look like.

£300k-£375k 3bed+ 1/2 mile then inc SSTC do a count.
8/17 that means people have offered on 9 and the are 8 left.

widen the search and drop the price range
£280-£350k 1 mile
14/36
Normally when I do this there are more for sale than under offer.

That's a good sample to see what people are buying some of them might be after looking at yours.

dropping the lower price to £250k the numbers change to 24/67
10 more for sale and 21 more sold clearly plenty of people buying 3 bed houses, just cheaper ones than yours.

Lived in military housing most of my childhood, good solid properties not everyone is comfortable with the open plan front spaces although it looks like a few further down have ring fenced their plots

That cooker looks like the one we had in our RAF house back in the 70's

the_quick

Kitchen - needs doing, so I would knock that of the asking
The toilet in "dungeon" - looks exactly like that, or some poor train station - I would just paint bricks and change toilet seat for something more appealing
Garden - as others said, some garden furniture maybe, but I really like simple lawn - it gives blank canvas - people can really change it if the want it - other might keep it just like that - easy to maintain.
In general it looks like a nice house - but probably price is the problem.
You clearly love your house, but you need to put business hat on and just try remove those emotions.

Davesnave

Reds-on-Sea wrote: »

yes, my older neighbours have replaced their original 50s doors and bakelite handles with lovely hardboard ones with stainless steel handles, and the solid oak balustrade with some other generic hideous one. Each to their own though. The bathroom's practically brand new. Kitchen is !!!! tho! Can assure you that the"outhouse" has cavity walls and fully complies with building regs!

That's good about the outhouse/office, as many similar were just 9" solid brick; fit for an old Burco and Dad's bike. Maybe point out that it complies when showing folks around and they'll see it more a part of the house than an 'extra.'



I know the bathroom's pretty new and a matter of taste. The more off-piste you go with styles, though, the harder it is to appeal to the masses. It's like black kitchens.... but hey, at least you don't have one of those!



I didn't recommend the sapele hardboard doors you mention and I think the stairway looks fine as it is.

sugarbabe84

I would be looking for a place with more character from the historic periods such as the Victorian era.

TamsinC

I like the stairs, the flooring, the doors and even the exposed brick. And for an ex quarter it's fine. Those kitchen units are still in many quarters - mine at the moment is even older! But most people don't want them. I don't mind the bathroom at all. The fish eye photos are very odd and actually make you think the room is even smaller than it is. But that's it - it's fine. It needs some oomph in the garden. You are marketing really for a reduced market - you bought it because you like mid century. Your buyer will need to like mid century to or do work. So you need to price accordingly or wait for that elusive person with your taste..

Niv

I would check ebay out to see if I could pick up some cheap kitchen cupboard doors, I would not looke to replace the whole thing or buy new.

TBagpuss

I think the problem with the office is that it looks industrial and unfinished, because as well as the exposed brickwork you've got bare bulbs, and a stained, unfinished floor, so the whole thing looks like a half-finished project, not a design choice. It also seems out of sync with the rest of the house which adds to the impression that it's not finished.

I thought it was a half-converted garage, when I looked at the pictures. The empty hooks on the wall add to that - It looks as though you would normally have bikes or ladders stored there and have taken them down for the pictures!

If you don't want to get it plastered then you might want to look at ways of making it look more finished and lived in - maybe some rugs, houseplants, pictures on the wall and either take the board with the hooks down, or use them!

Is there a hand basin in the downstairs loo? If not, that's going to be very off-putting to a lot of people. The exposed brickwork really doesn't work there,it doesn't look intentional at all.

I would be put off by the fact that you don't really have a separate front garden so there is not a lot of privacy (and the fact that, based on the outside photo, both you and your neighbours seem, from the photos, to have your blinds / curtains closed in the middle of the day adds to that impression)

Some demarcation of your garden might help, even if it is just a row of baby bushes in tubs, or something similar.

The back garden looks large but unloved, I'd suggest adding some colour, particularly now we are going into summer.

I personally like the doors, but over all, the house gives the impression that very little has been done to it, the kitchen is very dated and the things like the doors, banisters etc show nothing substantial has been one, so I'd be concerned about whether the property has been maintained and if things like the electrical and heating systems are up to date.

I think most people will be seeing it as having potential, rather than being move-in ready.

If you are getting offers at asking price then it may simply be that people do take time to sell, but equally I think you may be getting people who are in the early stages of looking and narrowing down what is available for their budget

Finally - where is the garage? The only ones I can see on the aerial photo seem to be beyond your back garden - it that where yours is, and if so, how do you get there? What is the land behind the end of your back garden, and do you have access over it? Is there space to park in front of your house as well?

I would suggest that you get your agent to retake the pictures using a normal lens. The fish eye ones just make it look weird, and give the impression that you are trying to make small rooms look bigger than they really are. I'd also suggest that you 'dress' the place a little.

No clutter or overly personal bits and bobs, but things which make it look lived ion - a bed in the 3rd bedroom, some cushions or throws, a bowl of fruit / vase of flowers on the dining table, maybe something on the walls in the bedrooms, so it looks like somewhere people can imagine living. I like the space, but you've gone a bit far the other way. On a practical note, having no bedside tables would make me wonder, looking at the pictures, where there is space for them by the bed..

Reds-on-Sea

It’s a funny area. Half a mile west the houses and streets get tiny and quite impoverished. There’s a big estate to the north that ranges from horrid to quite well to do, and there’s the beautiful garrison estate to the south that has houses in the £millions. I guess i’m hoping to cash in on a bit of that with the whole MOD vibe.

getmore4less wrote: »

That cooker looks like the one we had in our RAF house back in the 70's

It’s probably the same one !!!128563;!!!128563;!!!128563;

lookstraightahead

I think 3 months is no time at all. I always look at a year to sell and move all in all.

I do agree though that the housing market is being hyped up by EAs especially in my village. Some of the prices are an absolute joke and the houses just sit there on Rightmove, change agents, re-appear as newly listed. Often I will sit there looking at our house prices instead of watching Comedy Central

victoriavictorious

As there have been a lot of viewings (although not yet SSTC) it's unlikely to be the photos / decor, or even necessarily the price that is putting people off, so imo it's either that your agent is not properly vetting viewers to make sure they're actually proceedable before sending them along (eg able to get a mortgage), or it's something else entirely that only becomes apparent on a viewing.
However, it isn't really priced low enough to attract first time buyers, and may even be outside their search criteria for that location, so that might be why you only seem to be getting viewers with places to sell.
Having said all that though, I do agree with the others about those bare brick walls. They may be ok in an old country cottage but I feel they look a bit weird in a mid century 'suburban' house, especially in the loo.
I know you like the bare brick, but when you are trying to sell, unfortunately, it's no longer *about* what the owner likes.
In your position I'd be giving those walls a coat of white emulsion, probably a weekend's work and wouldn't break the bank.