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

musehead

dell12 said:

I don't think there's much wrong with the flat - I know the area and i'd agree it's competitively priced. Sure it's not to everyone's taste but it's a pretty blank canvas and it wouldn't take all that much for people to change things around. 

It might be worth considering using a high street agent (although I guess you've paid upfront now). I think onliners work to get your home on Rightmove, but after the first week or so when the property is first listed, they don't do anything to push buyers your way later on.

I've paid upfront although not a huge amount, so I feel I should give it a shot for a couple of months with the current agent. High street agents are expensive around here, the lowest I could get them down to was 1.35% + VAT, quite a lot on a potential 500k sale!

Owleyes00

I agree with pp when they say that you haven’t set it up like a person actually lives there. It doesn’t sell a lifestyle at all and actually looks quite depressing with the lack of stuff.

I think if you could set it up so you have proper dining table (not a fold leaf) adjacent to the kitchen for “kitchen diner” vibes then it might make your kitchen look a bit more usable. Or perhaps a movable island?

And then again you need to have your living area set up like people might be able to use that space for more than eating a meal for one. A decent sofa or some arm chairs, a rug and a plant or two.

getmore4less

Who owns those planters?

musehead

getmore4less said:

Who owns those planters?

The wooden ones are owned by the freeholder but I'm responsible for the plants in them.

The freestanding plant pots are mine.

Alan2020

The elephant in the room is the patio area. 

With the current lockdown private outside space is the most valuable. 

From what I understand you don’t have any, yet your floor plan shows a private patio.

Most people don’t want to do business with liars, and I don’t think most normal people want to deal with crooks. 

Basically you don’t have any private outdoor space, so in essence a £470k flat?? Or cheaper. If you are willing to lie about the patio, what else would you lie about is what a potential buyer would think, alarm bells and they won’t touch it with a barge pole.

moneysavinghero

Pressing the 'similar properties' button on Rightmove shows a lot of 2 bed flats in the area that have been sat on the market since back in 2020. Unfortunately a lot of people don't want to live in 2 bed flats these days (you may well be one of them). You might have to wait until they come back into fashion or price it according to current market conditions.

GDB2222

Alan2020 said:

The elephant in the room is the patio area. 

With the current lockdown private outside space is the most valuable. 

From what I understand you don’t have any, yet your floor plan shows a private patio.

Most people don’t want to do business with liars, and I don’t think most normal people want to deal with crooks. 

Basically you don’t have any private outdoor space, so in essence a £470k flat?? Or cheaper. If you are willing to lie about the patio, what else would you lie about is what a potential buyer would think, alarm bells and they won’t touch it with a barge pole.

That's rather a harshly worded post, but the point is valid. It's not a private patio. It's a communal patio, right outside your window. The best you can do is describe it as such, but make your point that in practice the other residents respect your privacy and don't use that area.

And, as others have said, you have decluttered too much!

And, I think the London market is not at all hot, compared to other parts of the country. What's really put the kibosh on central London is working from home. People working from home full time think they may as well up sticks and move to an area where property is a third of the price.

Maybe, your area will hot up with the lockdown easing. 

Can I ask what makes you want to move? Any of the reasons I have just mentioned?

GDB2222

There's a little trick you can do on Rightmove, namely check how many properties in your area are SSTC.

In your area, it was 19 are SSTC, out of 70 altogether.

For comparison, in Sheffield, it was 172 SSTC out of 240. 


The market in Sheffield is definitely hot. By comparison, your area is cool/lukewarm. So, whilst you can do things to improve your listing, you are probably expecting things to move more quickly than they will.



I live further out in the London suburbs than you. And, locally, I can see 140 SSTC out of 310.  

getmore4less

GDB2222 said:

There's a little trick you can do on Rightmove, namely check how many properties in your area are SSTC.

In your area, it was 19 are SSTC, out of 70 altogether.

For comparison, in Sheffield, it was 172 SSTC out of 240. 


The market in Sheffield is definitely hot. By comparison, your area is cool/lukewarm. So, whilst you can do things to improve your listing, you are probably expecting things to move more quickly than they will.



I live further out in the London suburbs than you. And, locally, I can see 140 SSTC out of 310.  

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78271605/#Comment_78271605

Crashy_Time

moneysavinghero said:

Pressing the 'similar properties' button on Rightmove shows a lot of 2 bed flats in the area that have been sat on the market since back in 2020. Unfortunately a lot of people don't want to live in 2 bed flats these days (you may well be one of them). You might have to wait until they come back into fashion or price it according to current market conditions.

Good advice, it is well presented IMO but half a million for a 2 bedder like this just doesn`t represent any kind of sensible value to me. Cut the price before furlough ends and people wake up to a new employment reality and hope for another SD holiday extension.