Can’t Sell our Flat - Options?

Tron103

Hi!
Hoping for some objective advice. We bought our flat in 2016 for £280,000. We’re now trying to sell and purchase a bigger property but are really struggling. We originally put it on the market for £300,000 but had zero interest after four weeks so we reduced to £290,000 (a flat in the block sold in 2019 for £292,500). We’ve still had absolutely no interest. Our Estate Agent has told us they’ve had the best month of business ever but the reality is people are less interested in flats than houses and there is surplus flats available. 

Its been six six weeks and I’m finding it super stressful. We’re debating reducing the price again but unsure if we’re being to rash in our actions and also conscious that this means we we likely end up selling the flat at a loss. I’m also considering looking at moving to a buy to let and renting it but concerned that more flats are being built nearby so the problem won’t go away.

I wanted to get perspectives on the options available: whether we hold on and stay patient, sell at a loss or by to let. 

Does anyone have any advice (or good news stories of finally achieving a sale)?
Big thanks in advance!

RobM99

Are the pictures on the Agent's website as good as possible, I ask.

MovingForwards

Was the flat brand new when you purchased it?
Does the building have cladding (huge issue getting safety reports on them)?
What are other similar properties listed / selling for?
How much are houses listed for / selling for?

Are you getting many people looking at the advert? If so, it will be the price, layout, perceived condition etc.

You can post a link, put a space in to break it up, and we have have a look see if there's anything obvious.

Competing with new builds won't help, especially with the H2B loan etc available to FTB.

Do you want to be a landlord? 

cattie

It would help to know where the flat is, whether close to a city centre or not & was it a new build property?

If you do decide to try reducing the price again, don't look upon it as losing money, consider how much you'd have had to pay to rent a similar property during your years of ownership & when you work out the figures, it probably means there is no real loss in monetary terms.

Vestraun

Post a link and you'll get more helpful targeted advice. 

RelievedSheff

I think you are trying to sell at an unfortunate moment. Lock down has made people have a long hard look at what they want from a property and a flat with no private outside space isn't high on many people's lists right now. That isn't to say that this situation will last forever.

There will be a buyer for your flat but you just need to work extra hard to find them right now. You need to make your flat stand out amongst the crowd. The advert needs to be top notch and the price needs to be realistic for the local market.

If there is cladding on the building then start the process now of speaking to the leaseholders about the testing of this. Most mortgage companies require this now and will give a zero valuation without the test results.

numbercruncher8

I don't think it's a lack of interest in flats, more a lack of interest in the flat at the current price. If you've had zero interest it surely is the price. £280k for a flat implies at least a popular area, commuter or otherwise.

This sounds like numerous people that I know. In parts of London, many flats that were new around 2016/2017 are not worth the same now. There is also a real slow market in terms of sales. Plenty of rentals, but hardly any get sold despite people trying. It is quite difficult to differentiate, many are more or less identical inside.

Part of the reason seems to be that they were overpriced to start with, having being eligible for the HTB scheme. The owners are loathe to put them on at a loss, so they end up being the same price as a brand new flat, sitting on the market for ages and then disappearing/reappearing. And the numbers of new flats are increasing and developers have been unable to raise prices for these. For example, in 2016 a new build I looked at cost c.£450,000. In 2020, a similar size new builds aren't costing that much more. 

Put yourself in the eyes of a buyer and pull up all the comparable listings in your area.... it may become clearer.

AdrianC

Tron103 said:

Hoping for some objective advice. We bought our flat in 2016 for £280,000. We’re now trying to sell and purchase a bigger property but are really struggling. We originally put it on the market for £300,000 but had zero interest after four weeks so we reduced to £290,000 (a flat in the block sold in 2019 for £292,500). We’ve still had absolutely no interest. 

Are you happy to post a Rightmove link?

Remember, it's the online details which drive people in through the door. If you aren't getting viewings, then people aren't liking the online details.

Crashy_Time

RelievedSheff said:

I think you are trying to sell at an unfortunate moment. Lock down has made people have a long hard look at what they want from a property and a flat with no private outside space isn't high on many people's lists right now. That isn't to say that this situation will last forever.

There will be a buyer for your flat but you just need to work extra hard to find them right now. You need to make your flat stand out amongst the crowd. The advert needs to be top notch and the price needs to be realistic for the local market.

If there is cladding on the building then start the process now of speaking to the leaseholders about the testing of this. Most mortgage companies require this now and will give a zero valuation without the test results.

Or is it that lock down has made people have a long hard look at whether they will have the same level of income or even a job in future and put them off buying anything that is over-priced?

Crashy_Time

I think if you break even you will be doing very very well, you won`t actually break even if you had a mortgage, but you know what I mean.

Tron103

Happy to share a link: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-94350320.html

We know that when we bought there were a fewer similar options in the area. Flat building has been significant in the last few years so it may be inevitable that this has impacted value. We were originally attracted to the larger than average size, accessibility to key roads/stations and the fact it was a small development vs. some of the others available. It’s not perfect and definitely has some elements that may be off putting. We never expected to profit - it worked for us and we’ve really enjoyed living here but it feels very weird to think we may have to sell at a loss even vs. 12 months ago. There is a lot of competition so we may have to. I do like what someone said about consider the cost of renting. We’ve built up quite decent equity so still in a better position than if we hadn’t bought.