Just two viewings on flat in three weeks - is this normal?

LondonEast

I put my flat on for sale on 22 January. Chose to go with a local EA over an online one as thought they would be more incentivised to sell on a commission basis and would have a database of registered potential buyers.

So far I've just had two viewings. Feedback from one was that they loved the flat but were concerned about block / communal areas (fair enough, it's a LA block,. To be fair, it has seen better days but is safe and quiet). The feedback from the other was that thought flat was well presented and in a great location, they found it too small - they put in an offer on a larger flat in a less favourable area.

My flat is a small one bed so I know there will be a limited pool of buyers. I've not sold a flat before so not sure if I am being unreasonable in expecting more viewings than this at this stage? Flat is on sale for offers between £300k and £325K. I'm tied into an 8 week contract with the EA and need to give 2 weeks notice (so at 6 weeks) to exit from it. My instinct is to try a different EA, perhaps Yopa as had them around to value and liked the agent but am I misguided in thinking this will make any difference to the speed of selling the flat? I'm desperate to sell asap so I can move before my son starts school in the autumn, but genuinely can't afford to reduce price.

Thanks!

cymruchris

LondonEast said:

I put my flat on for sale on 22 January. Chose to go with a local EA over an online one as thought they would be more incentivised to sell on a commission basis and would have a database of registered potential buyers.

So far I've just had two viewings. Feedback from one was that they loved the flat but were concerned about block / communal areas (fair enough, it's a LA block,. To be fair, it has seen better days but is safe and quiet). The feedback from the other was that thought flat was well presented and in a great location, they found it too small - they put in an offer on a larger flat in a less favourable area.

My flat is a small one bed so I know there will be a limited pool of buyers. I've not sold a flat before so not sure if I am being unreasonable in expecting more viewings than this at this stage? Flat is on sale for offers between £300k and £325K. I'm tied into an 8 week contract with the EA and need to give 2 weeks notice (so at 6 weeks) to exit from it. My instinct is to try a different EA, perhaps Yopa as had them around to value and liked the agent but am I misguided in thinking this will make any difference to the speed of selling the flat? I'm desperate to sell asap so I can move before my son starts school in the autumn, but genuinely can't afford to reduce price.

Thanks!

It depends on many factors, although price is usually top of the list. If it's a one bed local authority block in East London - I imagine things would be a bit slow at the moment. Certain property types fly - others take a while to find the right buyer. How's your price compared to something equivalent in the area? Are you near a tube station?

If you want some feedback on your listing (might not all be praise) - you can link the rightmove property ad for us all to take a look and provide some constructive advice.

Roger-D

Agree with the above. Post the Rightmove ad and we can take a look.

Everything will sell, at a price.

I wouldn't necessarily blame the agent. Yes, they may have persons in the wings waiting but tbh, most people search via Rightmove.

Have you tried 'virtual staging'? Can make an empty, unloved property look cosy, warm and cared for. Buyer's can visual themselves living there; whether a bed will fit; what a room could be used for etc. £100 a pic. Got ours sold that was on the market for over a year (through covid).

RelievedSheff

A small one bed flat isn't going to have the biggest pool of buyers. Even less so with it being in a LA block.

It will just be a case of being patient and waiting for a buyer to come along. I certainly wouldn't be switching agents so soon. Being on the market for three weeks is no time at all. We are not in the heights of a sellers market anymore. Property is taking longer to sell.

You are getting viewings which does suggest that the price is somewhere in the right region.

gwynlas

An ex LA flat with potential high service charges will be harder to sell. Is price low compared to others in the area and those on EAs books? If you are living there with your son have you done all you can to make what is a small space seem spacious. Most people prefer local EAs rather than YOPA as they believe them to be more knowledgeable about the area. If you provide a link to the listing you might get more relevant suggestions/feedback but be aware some people can be very rude regarding your personal taste.

MSE_James

Roger-D said:

Agree with the above. Post the Rightmove ad and we can take a look.

Please be mindful of the box at the top of the page which says - amongst other things - "Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address."

EssexHebridean

We sold a flat last year and at that time, in our area, flat sales had slowed to pretty much nothing due to the uncertainties around mortgage rates. Sadly at the moment we are still in a position where a lot of FTB are seeing mortgage rates as "high" and as a result they are holding off for them to "go back to normal" - and only time will make them realise that we are now in "normal" again!  Assuming that you are confident that the flat is being marketed as well as it can be, and that the price is right, then you may just have to accept that things are slow at the moment. Ours eventually sold after 4 months - although we would have probably had something agreed sooner if our original agents hadn't been poor.  Are your current agents making sure that the property is being included in their weekly emails out to those they have had enquiries from who are in your likely pool of buyers? Are you confident that they are making a good job of viewings, and have they quizzed you about anything they would expect to be asked about by those viewing? Have you asked them if there is anything that they suggest you might be able to do to make the property more attractive to those seeing its listing to make them more likely to view? if the answer to all those is yes, then it sounds like it could simply be a case of a slow market for your buyer demographic - again, have you asked the agents a direct question about that? 

The last thing that might be useful is to set yourself a RM search for properties that fall in the same bracket as yours in the area - at least that way you can reassure yourself a bit if it's not just yours that is lingering on the market! (At last count, there were flats up for sale when ours was marketed last year which STILL haven't sold, so we were far from the worst off!) 

RHemmings

MSE_James said:

Roger-D said:

Agree with the above. Post the Rightmove ad and we can take a look.

Please be mindful of the box at the top of the page which says - amongst other things - "Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address."

And note that if you say things like: it's a one bed flat on sale for £XX,XXX in the AREA of city, that it's possible that people can and will go and find it. The same applies for images which can be reversed image searched. Even cropped ones sometimes.  

Roger-D

The most important box on a Rightmove search is 'include sold listings'. The prices for sale mean little, they are merely aspirations. The Sold figures say what people will actually pay.

jrawle

Roger-D said:

The most important box on a Rightmove search is 'include sold listings'. The prices for sale mean little, they are merely aspirations. The Sold figures say what people will actually pay.

The Rightmove prices on "Sold" listings are not the purchase prices, however. They are simply the most recent asking price of the property. In my experience, the sale price can be different (usually lower) when the actual price appears in the Land Registry sold prices data.

EssexHebridean

Zoopla sold prices are the actual sold price so far as I know - but with a 6 month or so lag for things to update from the Land Reg site. Ours (freehold house)  showed on there in about 4 and a half months - the flat we sold at the same time hasn't appeared yet though.