House listed for three months with no viewing/enquiries

Smodlet

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

Personally, I think your 'pool' of potential buyers is, in reality, more of a 'puddle' at the current price.

It will exclude:

Anyone who wants a bungalow rather than a house
Anyone with small children
Anyone who wants off road parking
Anyone who is elderly/infirm
Anyone who has mobility issues
Anyone who doesn't want to live on a main road
Anyone who wants a kitchen where you can't touch both side walls at the same time
Anyone who wants a user friendly garden because they're not into rock climbing

I know that's negative, but you did ask

I would add to this excellent list:

Anyone who likes wearing high heels (suppose mobility issues covers that and yes, I used to wear 'em once)
Anyone who is not both a takeaway fan and a mountain goat.

Maybe it will appeal to people who work from home and don't go out much... At the right price.

circuit

I'm looking at this from the perspective of someone with a young family (which I have). The steps etc are not really an issue and normal in many areas, I think the real issue is that it looks drab.

What I would say is
- Putting a picture of the inside first always makes me assume there is something wrong with the front.
- Get a better photo of the front actually showing the steps rather trying to hide them.
- Why have you got a sofa and a coffee table in a bedroom?
- Where is the photo of the lounge?
- Why two photos of a landing?
- The bedrooms look very unloved -- can you put a few things in to brighten them up and get some modern bedding? Put a bed in the third bedroom as well
- In the bedroom with the blue bed, put something nice in the fireplace so it looks like a potential feature

I would personally forget about the steps, you can't change that, although it may well impact the price (I don't know).

Finally, go back to your vendor and get the description improved, particularly the grammatical errors and typically exaggerated claims ("ITS MUCH BIGGER THAN YOU THINK", "Incredibly deceptive", etc). I also don't like the fact they've said it could easily be a 4 bedroom house when the dining room is one of the nicest photos on there. It just smacks of desperation.

Short answer - change your agent and make the rooms look nicer!

Crashy_Time

Get the price right and people will over-look a lot of "problems" IMO.

Davesnave

Crashy_Time wrote: »

Get the price right and people will over-look a lot of "problems" IMO.

As my rather unkind English teacher used to say, "Thank you for the shattering glimpse of the obvious you've just given us there!":rotfl:


But yes, a vendor is often the last person who will look at their property with others' eyes, list its pros and cons and then discount accordingly.

AnotherJoe

circuit wrote: »

I'm looking at this from the perspective of someone with a young family (which I have). The steps etc are not really an issue and normal in many areas, I think the real issue is that it looks drab.

Maybe not for you or perhaps you originally came from Tibet, but I'd say for most people with toddler, a baby in a buggy, maybe both, trying to get from somewhere along that main road (wherever you can get a space) up the stairs to the house front door (along with shopping perhaps) would be a nightmare and the garden would similarly be dangerous to let little kids out to play.

Crashy_Time

Davesnave wrote: »

As my rather unkind English teacher used to say, "Thank you for the shattering glimpse of the obvious you've just given us there!":rotfl:


But yes, a vendor is often the last person who will look at their property with others' eyes, list its pros and cons and then discount accordingly.

Obvious? Prices needing to come down a lot certainly wasn`t "obvious" on here not so long ago :rotfl:Obviously reality is starting to sink in though If people hadn`t been bidding up property prices with cheap borrowed money just to "get on the ladder" we wouldn`t be in this price bubble with all the economic, social and political problems it is throwing up in the first place. Brexit wouldn`t have happened IMO if the PTB had tamed house prices a few years ago and just let people take their losses.

AnotherJoe

I've just had a look on RM, there are many properties in the area at a similar price or only £10k more with flat plots, decent gardens, garage, drive.
Thats why this hasnt had a single look in three months.
This one went for £20k cheaper
This one went for £10k cheaper (still on a hill but flat garden and a drive/garage)
This for £10k cheaper (no drive but much bigger)
and many more like these.


This house just doesn't stand up to the competition IMNSHO.

If i was looking in this area and £190k was my budget I'd have a quick glance and not give it a second thought even if i was in the small "puddle" of potential buyers. No amount of switching order of photos or different bedding will disguise that its overpriced.

Davesnave

Crashy_Time wrote: »

Obvious? Prices needing to come down a lot certainly wasn`t "obvious" on here not so long ago :rotfl:

I wasn't following your personal agenda Crashy, I was talking about people evaluating their own properties in whatever conditions prevail at the time, like we are doing here, y'know? Finding comparables.

It applies in any market, though rather obviously, in a fast rising one, a house might become competitive just by remaining on the books long enough.

I have two neighbours whose prices have just reduced considerably, right at the @r$e-end of summer, when even they've realised there have been virtually no viewings since spring.


The point is, they could have marketed at those prices 7 months ago and stood a good chance of selling, but no, they hoped 'someone would fall in love' with their house, or some such nonsense.

Crashy_Time

Davesnave wrote: »

I wasn't following your personal agenda Crashy, I was talking about people evaluating their own properties in whatever conditions prevail at the time, like we are doing here, y'know? Finding comparables.

It applies in any market, though rather obviously, in a fast rising one, a house might become competitive just by remaining on the books long enough.

I have two neighbours whose prices have just reduced considerably, right at the @r$e-end of summer, when even they've realised there have been virtually no viewings since spring.


The point is, they could have marketed at those prices 7 months ago and stood a good chance of selling, but no, they hoped 'someone would fall in love' with their house, or some such nonsense.

I don`t think we are disagreeing, I am just pointing out that things that will get over-looked in a property mania (get on the ladder at any price) will become excuses for pulling out or re-negotiating the price when things start cooling off, but judging by the comments from others on this thread the OP`s house is simply over-priced for it`s location and for this market. I don`t have much sympathy for you neighbours TBH, but does it bother you that they have just lowered the price for the street basically?

Davesnave

Crashy_Time wrote: »

does it bother you that they have just lowered the price for the street basically?

We don't live on a street; we're rural and we have land, so what the neighbours' houses fetch is unimportant from our POV, especially as we don't want to sell. People with farms and smallholdings tend to hang on to them till they expire!

The word 'neighbour' in the sense I used it, means people within about a half mile or so, because we know everyone within that radius.