Selling flat: should I reduce price?

pred02

Hi,

My wife and I are selling out 2 bed period flat in South London. It's a flat with garden and good sized rooms 2 bathrooms close to central connections. When I purchased it 9 years ago I snapped it up within hours of being listed, and I suspect other flats like this on the street were too. The flat is in good condition, we bought a share of freehold, put in new roof boiler etc.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128299475#/?channel=RES_BUY

We got 4 valuations, picked a local agent and listed approximately 4 weeks ago at the lower of the valuations. It's been 4 weeks and we had little less than a dozen viewings but no offers. A very similar flat (these are all built the same) on a street next door listed for same price a month and went under offer immediately. Our situation is we are moving to a house as we have a growing family, we have a pre-mini 4% mortgage rate agreed until Christmas and we have found a potential house to offer up on. Our agent is telling us to lower the price.  We have another 2 weeks before we are away for holidays at which point we were planning on halting the search and continuing next year. 

Our options are:
1. Reduce the price in hope we get more viewings and offer over next 2 weeks, offering up on the house we found hoping its accepted.
2. Pull the flat off the market and re-market it in the spring and maybe do some modifications, pick different agent etc.

Just dropping the price is ease for agent to advise but obviously has impact in downward purchase. I feel if we drop now and don't get anywhere we will never be able to go back to the price. If we don't at least put mortgage offer on the house, we loose the good fixed rate. 

Not sure what's a strategic thing to do?

Thanks

youth_leader

I've had a look on line and you have made a lovely home.  Seems two others in the street sold last year one for £507K, slightly larger and a different layout to you at £562K.  

Before dropping your price, I would take some of your furniture out of the lounge, I know it's a pain, but it would make it appear more spacious. Perhaps rent a storage unit, or ask family to take it. 

I'd also rearrange the second bedroom and put the bed out, as a bed.  People lack imagination, show them the space as a bedroom.  Get the photographer back to do new photographs and videos, I'm sure you can get this done in the next two weeks. Good luck. 

lika_86

I'd drop the price. Looking at those that sold for more than £500k in the past few years:

£507.5 - November 2021 - better layout (albeit missing the en-suite)
£562.5k - March 2021 - bigger and better layout - loft conversion already done
£535k - December 2019 - better layout 

All of them are better laid out than your flat. Obviously someone could do the same with yours but that means taking out a wall, adding a wall and installing a new kitchen. I'd wager that's the best part of £20k (at the cheap end for a kitchen) and the work would need to be done, meaning disruption. Your price point is just out of step with prices achieved for better laid out properties at a time when interest rates were basically as low as they could possibly go and people were clamouring for property with outside space, having been locked down for most of the previous year. I'd say you need to go to £500k if you really want people to start showing interest.

I do agree with youth_leader though. At present your property looks cluttered and doesn't look like there's room to grow into it. The kitchen looks tiny and like it has very little space for stuff - the beer fridge in the living room doesn't help. Equally, the huge wardrobes in the 'office' suggest there isn't enough storage in the main bedroom, rendering the second bedroom storage and an office only, rather than realistically being a second bedroom.

ETA: You won't complete before Christmas even if you sold tomorrow. Can you extend your rate? If not, could you afford a mortgage at rates offered today?

pred02

Thanks all for the feedback. It's constructive though I won't be able to make the changes over next 2 weeks as we have a little baby and during the week we are packed plus don't have family in the UK so need to secure storage and get properly organised.

Here is the flat next door that was advertised at £550k and that went under offer almost immediately:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/125891585#/media?channel=RES_BUY&id=media7&ref=photoCollage

The rate is mortgage offer that's valid for 90 days it expires right before Christmas. It was based on a 5 year fixed rate secured in Sept at just sub 4%.

I will need to get a new rate at the time we find the property next year, can we afford at current rate? Yes we can but probably need to adjust our purchase budget or monthly budget. 

It feels like dropping the price right now would only be worthwhile if I get an offer accepted on onward property, otherwise might as well pause, accept we will lose the mortgage offer and pick up with the flat changes and any re-marketing price changes in the new year. 

youth_leader

Good luck with whatever you decide, but it does get very quiet towards Christmas.  My solicitor finished work on 23 December, reopened 4January. You could offer on the onward property but as you aren't proceedable might have to leave it on the table.  

I think the other flat went quickly because of the open fires and easy garden access, as well as the lounge being enclosed.

Enjoy your holiday.

RelievedSheff

With the best will in the world even if your flat sells tomorrow and your offer is accepted on the house you will not complete by Christmas and almost certainly wont within the 90 day extension period.

You need to be reconsidering if you can afford the move with a larger interest rate I'm afraid.

lika_86

pred02 said:

Here is the flat next door that was advertised at £550k and that went under offer almost immediately:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/125891585#/media?channel=RES_BUY&id=media7&ref=photoCollage

Worth noting that you don't know what offer was actually accepted but also that flat is in an end terrace (less risk of noisy neighbours) and has more outside space by virtue of being on the ground floor, in addition to a bigger kitchen albeit smaller second bedroom.

hackneylou

The flat is nice but the layout will be putting a lot of people off. The bedroom off the kitchen is not appealing for whoever has to sleep in that bedroom. 

gwynlas

As previously mentionned the flat looks full rather than spacious and personally I prefer integrated appliances in kitchen,yours looks to have little worktop space because of the large microwave. There is no point in lowering the price unless you choose your bottom line and go for offers over eg £520K as interested  buyers would make offers anyway and you are over the £500K filter point on rightmove. With one baby you definetly have sufficient space and could stay there a while. Since listing we have had the chancellors autumn statement the results of which buyers need to absorb. Consider the points that others have made and relist in the new year with some new photographs.

onetimeatponycamp

I haven't time to read the other comments but I think you could do with new photos - it's a lovely flat but the photos aren't as slick as they could be. There are a few things you could tidy up, loose cables etc. Minimise the furniture - put it into storage. I'd also get an under sink cabinet for the bathroom as under the sink looks not great at the mo. Just try and "stage" it a bit. Look at other properties on Rightmove to get ideas!

TheJP

One thing that sticks out for me is the bathrooms look tired which i don't think you have touched since you bought the flat (i may be wrong but they look older than 10 years) which compared to other comparable flats in the area that have more modern bathrooms makes them appealing. Agree with some about maximising your space for the pictures and viewings.