No viewing requests in first week?

RelievedSheff

As others have already alluded too lock down made people reassess what they want from a property and where they want to live. Unfortunately flats are not quite so popular right now for that very reason. 

There is nothing wrong with your listing or photographs. It is just a matter of timing and if you want to sell the flat then you may well have to drop the price until it become an attractive prospect to someone. There are plenty of flats for sale in the area so you have plenty of competition. Unless you absolutely have to move I would be tempted to just take it off the market and sit it out for 12 months or so. Let people forget about lock down.

penners324

Far too many flats on the market and no buyers for them.
My flat was on the market for 13 weeks with only 1 viewing (after 10 weeks).
It's now off the market waiting for things to improve.

[Deleted User]

I think with flats they are generally harder to shift as the market for them is so refined. Your main market is singles and FTB'ers but I think nowadays a lot of people are skipping the flat stage and just going straight for a house. Just my opinion anyway.

In terms of your listing, your flat looks lovely, but the outside area looks a bit shabby. That grass looks like it hasn't seen a drop of rain for 12 months! 

ElizabethRose

Your flat looks lovely but as others have said lockdown has changed what people want. Locally where I am houses are selling in days but flats are having to be reduced and still not selling. Obviously I don't know your situation but could you wait a while longer to see if flats recover?

moneysavinghero

Deleted_User said:

I think with flats they are generally harder to shift as the market for them is so refined. Your main market is singles and FTB'ers but I think nowadays a lot of people are skipping the flat stage and just going straight for a house. Just my opinion anyway.

In terms of your listing, your flat looks lovely, but the outside area looks a bit shabby. That grass looks like it hasn't seen a drop of rain for 12 months! 

Yes the pond ( i presume it's a pond ) does look a little bit dry. How old are the photos?

Aaroncity2

Thanks to everyone for your responses so far!
So are key selling point is we are in an area called Noak Bridge, which is much more desirable than other areas in Basildon. However, I take the point about not being near a train station.
The pond is a sore point, with all the dry weather we've had it has all dried up, which is such a shame as our flat overlooks the 'pond'.
I also take the points about pictures of the front door area, parking spaces and outlook - I am going to raise this with Yopa.
Finally, I hadn't realised Guide Prices would be potentially off putting. We paid £230k back in 2018 so not really willing to take a loss as it's worth the money. Sounds to me like the timing is wrong and hadn't thought about others not considering flats now - seems to be the perfect storm.
We wanted more space too as I'm working from home full-time, but so many are in that boat too. Our goal was to get everything in place so we could save on the stamp duty like so many others.
Thanks for your help so far everyone!

Aaroncity2

The photos were taken a couple of weeks back, no improvement on the pond in that time unfortunately!

RelievedSheff

Aaroncity2 said:

Thanks to everyone for your responses so far!
So are key selling point is we are in an area called Noak Bridge, which is much more desirable than other areas in Basildon. However, I take the point about not being near a train station.
The pond is a sore point, with all the dry weather we've had it has all dried up, which is such a shame as our flat overlooks the 'pond'.
I also take the points about pictures of the front door area, parking spaces and outlook - I am going to raise this with Yopa.
Finally, I hadn't realised Guide Prices would be potentially off putting. We paid £230k back in 2018 so not really willing to take a loss as it's worth the money. Sounds to me like the timing is wrong and hadn't thought about others not considering flats now - seems to be the perfect storm.
We wanted more space too as I'm working from home full-time, but so many are in that boat too. Our goal was to get everything in place so we could save on the stamp duty like so many others.
Thanks for your help so far everyone!

If you think about your current situation it is the same for thousands of others which is why right now your property is not attracting any potential buyers. They want what you want which isn't your flat.

The price you paid in 2018 is irrelevant to it's value today.

If you really want to sell the flat then the price is the one thing that will have to give in the current market.

numbercruncher8

Unless you have sank all your money into it, the purchase price is not that meaningful. 

It's more psychological about not wanting a loss. After all, even if you sell at £230k you will still have made a loss on it, unless EA/solicitors/moving costs £0, which it does not.

Sitting tight also has a cost. For instance, there are several flats at or below your price level and they don't seem to be shifting, only one SSTC. One has been on since December last year at £220k, so if the area is desirable it clearly is the price that people have a problem with.

It may be that the price people will buy at is less than what is being demanded. If we could say the going price for these flats is £210,000, that is a c.10% off the current asking price. Even if prices grow at 5% a year, it may be 2023 before you achieve that price. And arguably 5% could be optimistic at the moment. 2-bed flats in that area were being traded for £220,000 in 2017, so there has been no growth at all in the last 3 years, given the current trend it seems growth will be fuelled by houses with gardens.

In your situation there may be intangible costs. It looks like from the pictures you have a young child, so losing £10,000-£20,000 now but getting more space with a garden could beat hanging around for a couple of years in the hope that someone is going to pay a premium for your flat.

[Deleted User]

Aaroncity2 said:

Thanks to everyone for your responses so far!
So are key selling point is we are in an area called Noak Bridge, which is much more desirable than other areas in Basildon. However, I take the point about not being near a train station.
The pond is a sore point, with all the dry weather we've had it has all dried up, which is such a shame as our flat overlooks the 'pond'.
I also take the points about pictures of the front door area, parking spaces and outlook - I am going to raise this with Yopa.
Finally, I hadn't realised Guide Prices would be potentially off putting. We paid £230k back in 2018 so not really willing to take a loss as it's worth the money. Sounds to me like the timing is wrong and hadn't thought about others not considering flats now - seems to be the perfect storm.
We wanted more space too as I'm working from home full-time, but so many are in that boat too. Our goal was to get everything in place so we could save on the stamp duty like so many others.
Thanks for your help so far everyone!

Have you considered dropping the price by roughly what you'd expect to save via the stamp duty holiday? e.g. if you're expecting to save 15k in stamp duty fees from your onwards purchase then reduce the asking price for a little under that much. I know it means you won't benefit from it but you won't lose out either and might get you a quicker sale.