London 2 bed flat. Over 1 week listed but only 1 enquiry/viewing - please critique!

Crashy_Time

Weathergirl_76 said:

Hi. I don’t know anything about prices in London but it’s a lovely flat with good sized outdoor space and parking which at the moment is a huge bonus. 

I would add a nice big rug in the lounge (Facebook marketplace have loads and good value, also eBay etc) and I would open up the dining table and maybe put some flowers in a vase (even a bunch of daffs will work) on there. 

I love the garden space, but wonder if you can make it a bit more private? Can you put some mobile screening up to make it a bit less see thru? There is a trend at the moment for Venetian panels, they still allow you to see outside but offer some privacy, or maybe some good sized established plants in the planters, like laurels, to give some screening. That would be a bonus for me, as id feel too exposed otherwise sitting out there. 

Your main bedroom is an excellent size. I have also turned my second bedroom into an office and removed the bed. I don’t think it would stop people viewing, but if you wanted to stage it as a bedroom for the photos, maybe borrow a sofa bed or as another person suggested use some boxes to create a bed. Even if just for the photos. It’s tidy and clean and nicely presented. If you are not getting viewings at all it’s usually down to price (that’s what I have read) but you have followed the agents advice. Your agent should be able to run the stats from Rightmove and see how many people are looking at the online details and feedback from there. Good luck. 

Some of the outdoor space is communal though...and the flat is asking half a million pounds.......?

theoretica

Weathergirl_76 said:

Your agent should be able to run the stats from Rightmove and see how many people are looking at the online details and feedback from there.

I think all the viewers from this site will have totally skewed that!

musehead

theoretica said:

Weathergirl_76 said:

Your agent should be able to run the stats from Rightmove and see how many people are looking at the online details and feedback from there.

I think all the viewers from this site will have totally skewed that!

Yes, here's a graph of the viewer stats from last week...! 

GDB2222

Do I read that graph correctly? Your flat was viewed over 200 times on RM on 16 April and over 100 times a day over 17-18 April? That’s well before you posted here on 23 April. 

So several hundred people looked at the details, and you had how many viewings as a result? Interest after 18 April seems to have been much much lower?

Assuming all the people actively looking in your area have already seen the details, any changes you make now will only have minimal effect?

musehead

GDB2222 said:

Do I read that graph correctly? Your flat was viewed over 200 times on RM on 16 April and over 100 times a day over 17-18 April? That’s well before you posted here on 23 April. 

So several hundred people looked at the details, and you had how many viewings as a result? Interest after 18 April seems to have been much much lower?

Assuming all the people actively looking in your area have already seen the details, any changes you make now will only have minimal effect?

Yes you're right, and those website views resulted in one viewing.

Presumably all those other views found something off-putting, whether the price or something about the actual flat or advert, which was the purpose of this post to try and determine the main problems.

Once I've sorted out the listing (taking on board some of the kind advice in this thread!) then assuming continued lack of interest I'll reduce the price which will notify anyone who has the property in their saved lists or saved search areas, and hopefully rekindle some interest.

Rather than keep reducing indefinitely I'll probably hand it over to a local agent at some point who will no doubt do a better job at marketing it than me!

Dusk1983

For 500k a FTB can buy a 2 or even 3 bed Victorian house in need of some TLC, but still in Zone 3, such as somewhere like Stratford or Leyton.

Friends of mine just did exactly that, and crucially they’ve bought the room to extend up and out. That’s a 4 bedder in the making, with a decent garden still left over. Play it right and they’ll be set for life.

London flat owners are still not confronting reality. The market has been nothing short of gutted, and what’s left of it is focused squarely on a) period conversions with gardens and b) top spec “pied a terre” type places in prime locations.

FTB_Help

Dusk1983 said:

For 500k a FTB can buy a 2 or even 3 bed Victorian house in need of some TLC, but still in Zone 3, such as somewhere like Stratford or Leyton.

Friends of mine just did exactly that, and crucially they’ve bought the room to extend up and out. That’s a 4 bedder in the making, with a decent garden still left over. Play it right and they’ll be set for life.

London flat owners are still not confronting reality. The market has been nothing short of gutted, and what’s left of it is focused squarely on a) period conversions with gardens and b) top spec “pied a terre” type places in prime locations.

Exactly what me and my friends are doing, just slightly higher budget but the potential is a massive pay off vs buying a flat like this

I was initially looking at flats as i thought i would never be able to afford a house.

Once we slowly get back to normality, i can see people wanting to be based in central London and flats in London will always sell.

I think selling "2nd hand" new builds generally struggle as the new build premium is now lost, plus the ridiculous service charges.

Plus whoever buys this flat now, will most definitely be subjected to a large stamp duty bill, which will put people off.

Tooting is a lovely area but the properties that are generally sought after in this area tend to be period converisons (Louisville road has lots selling for 600k-700k!!).

Give it some more time OP.

It may take a big chunky price drop to gain some interest though

Crashy_Time

FTB_Help said:

Dusk1983 said:

For 500k a FTB can buy a 2 or even 3 bed Victorian house in need of some TLC, but still in Zone 3, such as somewhere like Stratford or Leyton.

Friends of mine just did exactly that, and crucially they’ve bought the room to extend up and out. That’s a 4 bedder in the making, with a decent garden still left over. Play it right and they’ll be set for life.

London flat owners are still not confronting reality. The market has been nothing short of gutted, and what’s left of it is focused squarely on a) period conversions with gardens and b) top spec “pied a terre” type places in prime locations.

Exactly what me and my friends are doing, just slightly higher budget but the potential is a massive pay off vs buying a flat like this

I was initially looking at flats as i thought i would never be able to afford a house.

Once we slowly get back to normality, i can see people wanting to be based in central London and flats in London will always sell.

I think selling "2nd hand" new builds generally struggle as the new build premium is now lost, plus the ridiculous service charges.

Plus whoever buys this flat now, will most definitely be subjected to a large stamp duty bill, which will put people off.

Tooting is a lovely area but the properties that are generally sought after in this area tend to be period converisons (Louisville road has lots selling for 600k-700k!!).

Give it some more time OP.

It may take a big chunky price drop to gain some interest though

Good advice.

woodsford

Dusk1983 said:

For 500k a FTB can buy a 2 or even 3 bed Victorian house in need of some TLC, but still in Zone 3, such as somewhere like Stratford or Leyton.

Friends of mine just did exactly that, and crucially they’ve bought the room to extend up and out. That’s a 4 bedder in the making, with a decent garden still left over. Play it right and they’ll be set for life.

London flat owners are still not confronting reality. The market has been nothing short of gutted, and what’s left of it is focused squarely on a) period conversions with gardens and b) top spec “pied a terre” type places in prime locations.

Agreed. OP, I apologise in advance for this uncomfortable reading but hopefully it'll show you what people like myself (prospective buyer in Balham) was thinking and noticed in the Balham market.

I lived in Balham (Zone 3) and kept an eye on the market for the last 12 months (I'll come back to this part later). 
Not wishing to declare how much I paid or anything so here's an example of what I did.

Balham property in Zone 3 = X minutes commute, property is priced at 800k (fictional price) and the size is 100 sq m (again, this is just fictional).
A property in Zone 3 = X minutes commute, property is priced at 560k (fictional price) and the size is 200 sq m (again, fictional).

This is what I did - bought a property in Zone 3 with same commute (probably better actually) for the double the size and 30% cheaper. 

Over the last 12 months I've noticed the flats market struggling in Balham especially (other areas less so) and the prices are on a downward slope. I'd either do the following:

1) Drop a significant amount to get ahead of other flats waiting to sell and just move on. Even this is not guaranteed to get interest.
2) Hold until Coronavirus is over and things get back to normal in London (later this year or in 2022) then sell. Risk here is there will be a backlog of other flats waiting to sell so this may take a while.
3) Rent it out and rent somewhere else if you can afford it.

Personally, I'd do 2) but it is risky as I have noticed that flats who wait do lose out as other flats are reducing price. If I really needed to move then I would do 3), but again not easy.

All the best and I'm sure things will work out OK in the end.

musehead

Thanks everyone for your kind input in this thread! I never thought it would get 10 pages of comments.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90714022#/
My listing is now updated and I've taken on board some of the points raised in this thread:

• Changed floor plan to remove patio
• Reduced mentions of patio and described it only as "communal"
• Added sentence in description to mention that the flat is in the rear/quiet part of building
• Reduce number of photos to 8 and removed exterior shots (apart from one of patio)
• Dressed the living room/dining area up a bit with more stuff, extra storage/display units. Set the dining table up
• Temporarily changed the second bedroom from an office into a bedroom for the photos
• Got better quality photos taken with realistic colour balance. I was amazed at the difference!

Some issues that were mentioned that I've not (yet) changed:

• Position of the sofa and layout of the living room in general, I couldn't find another way that works without making it more awkward with my current furniture. I also still have the original wooden/futon company sofa
• The kitchen
• The second bedroom shot should probably have a wardrobe + drawers unit instead of just a chest of drawers (but hopefully viewers can use their imagination)
• Online agent
• Probably most importantly, the price!

Price reduction is next assuming continued lack of interest. I can't believe two agents were pushing me to list with them at 550k!