Why is this house not selling

Bookworm105

uralmaid said:

Obviously the link was removed but as I was an Estate Agent in Wakefield for a lot of years - I guessed where it could be and had a look. If I am right it is in C.......n?  Unfortunately that area was always priced slightly lower than some more desirable parts of the location.  The photos are terrible.  The house looks very cluttered and the garden doesn't look appealing either. The large pool is not really a positive selling feature.  I think you really need to have a concerted effort to de-clutter (hard I know when you have kids) but necessary. The room sizes are very small so clearing a lot of the stuff will at least make them seem a bit more useable.  The conservatory just looks like a dumping ground and not appealing at all.  I know it sound harsh but if you really want to sell then something has to be done. I think realistically the price should be no more than £275k and possibly less.  A hard pill to swallow but if you want to sell then you have to be realistic and comparable.  It is in the price bracket for a lot of first time buyers or young couples, but if they come to look around it as it looks on the pics, they will immediately be put off as most younger buyers would want it to look modern, fresh and clutter free. They don't necessarily have the vision to see what it could become. Just trying to give constructive help.

yes it is where you think it is
fascinating to see an EA's take on life, load of flannel followed by reduce the price 

if it is getting viewers then the photos are not the problem
if it is gettering viewers but not offers then the house is the problem
the house is size v price,
EA wants max commission and sees the other two 5 beds are £290, but that does not mean this one also must be £290 if they actually want to get a sale and some real money 

BarelySentientAI

Bookworm105 said:

uralmaid said:

Obviously the link was removed but as I was an Estate Agent in Wakefield for a lot of years - I guessed where it could be and had a look. If I am right it is in C.......n?  Unfortunately that area was always priced slightly lower than some more desirable parts of the location.  The photos are terrible.  The house looks very cluttered and the garden doesn't look appealing either. The large pool is not really a positive selling feature.  I think you really need to have a concerted effort to de-clutter (hard I know when you have kids) but necessary. The room sizes are very small so clearing a lot of the stuff will at least make them seem a bit more useable.  The conservatory just looks like a dumping ground and not appealing at all.  I know it sound harsh but if you really want to sell then something has to be done. I think realistically the price should be no more than £275k and possibly less.  A hard pill to swallow but if you want to sell then you have to be realistic and comparable.  It is in the price bracket for a lot of first time buyers or young couples, but if they come to look around it as it looks on the pics, they will immediately be put off as most younger buyers would want it to look modern, fresh and clutter free. They don't necessarily have the vision to see what it could become. Just trying to give constructive help.

yes it is where you think it is
fascinating to see an EA's take on life, load of flannel followed by reduce the price 

if it is getting viewers then the photos are not the problem
if it is gettering viewers but not offers then the house is the problem
the house is size v price,
EA wants max commission and sees the other two 5 beds are £290, but that does not mean this one also must be £290 if they actually want to get a sale and some real money 

That's very simplistic.

I viewed several houses where I hadn't seen any photographs because I asked the EA what was suitable for me and they took me around 4 or 5 houses in an afternoon (I was travelling some distance to view).

The house I live in at the moment had terrible photographs, and I'd written it off as an option, but was viewing a different one nearby and asked them to add it just because there was free time.  Walked through the door, found that it was much better than the photographs, and knew within 5 minutes it was the one to buy.

Thinking about it - the smallest bedroom on the photographs of mine had a day bed and lots of other furniture (and I thought it would be a useless room).  When I got there, they'd removed all that and put in a double bed and one wardrobe - made it look much more useable.  Had it still had the old furniture, perhaps I wouldn't have been able to look past it.

A house is perceived size, usability, location and required works (plus other bits) vs price.  People in the UK don't buy on £/m2.

Skiddaw1

I found the Rightmove link by a process of elimination.

OP, I agree with what many others have said- the house needs a proper decluttering and general refreshing. I honestly think that a good old sort out, some fresh pics and a bit of staging would make all the difference especially if combined with a modest price reduction. Would it be worth you coming off the market for long enough for the house to pop to the top when you go back on? Come off now and remarket with a different agent early in the New Year possibly?

Good luck. You'll get there eventually.

moneysaver12

housebuyer143 said:

Now you say it was a 3 bed I can see it. It has the typically 3 bed downstairs layout, which is fine for a family buying a 3 bed, but a family buying a 5 bed might find the downstairs space and the garden too small. 

I think most people expect a master you can get a king sized bed in. You are probably best of pricing and marketing it as a small 4 bed with an office and at least it's setting expectations. 

4/5 beds that are built to be that normally have hallways, larger bedrooms and just more sqf as a matter of course. You can't change that, so I think it's a matter of getting better pictures, reducing the price and setting expectations. Get the agent to put the room sizes on the floorplan because that's the first place I looked for them before having to go through the description, which I actually don't think that many people bother with. 

Thank you for your help.  I don’t know why they made the master bedroom so small.  Our garden is bigger than the next two houses to us that were built as four beds and bigger than those behind.  Also even the four beds have the same size layout apart from the en-suite.  hallway is same size as the houses that were built as four beds.  All of downstairs is same size as the ones that were built as four beds:  our living room is bigger than the new builds that have been built over the past six years.

moneysaver12

BonaDea said:

If the house has the footprint of a 3-bed then it needs to be priced as a 3-bed, but towards the top of that range to account for the versatility offered by the internal division of space.  That'll likely sell it.

BonaDea said:

If the house has the footprint of a 3-bed then it needs to be priced as a 3-bed, but towards the top of that range to account for the versatility offered by the internal division of space.  That'll likely sell it.

Thank you.  Down stairs is the same size of the four beds and upstairs is the same apart from master bedroom is a bit bigger in the four beds.

moneysaver12

uralmaid said:

Obviously the link was removed but as I was an Estate Agent in Wakefield for a lot of years - I guessed where it could be and had a look. If I am right it is in C.......n?  Unfortunately that area was always priced slightly lower than some more desirable parts of the location.  The photos are terrible.  The house looks very cluttered and the garden doesn't look appealing either. The large pool is not really a positive selling feature.  I think you really need to have a concerted effort to de-clutter (hard I know when you have kids) but necessary. The room sizes are very small so clearing a lot of the stuff will at least make them seem a bit more useable.  The conservatory just looks like a dumping ground and not appealing at all.  I know it sound harsh but if you really want to sell then something has to be done. I think realistically the price should be no more than £275k and possibly less.  A hard pill to swallow but if you want to sell then you have to be realistic and comparable.  It is in the price bracket for a lot of first time buyers or young couples, but if they come to look around it as it looks on the pics, they will immediately be put off as most younger buyers would want it to look modern, fresh and clutter free. They don't necessarily have the vision to see what it could become. Just trying to give constructive help.

Thank you,  I appreciate your advice.  It is in that area.  Conservatory is a play room but we could declutter it and rest of the house.

Bookworm105

BarelySentientAI said:

Bookworm105 said:

uralmaid said:

Obviously the link was removed but as I was an Estate Agent in Wakefield for a lot of years - I guessed where it could be and had a look. If I am right it is in C.......n?  Unfortunately that area was always priced slightly lower than some more desirable parts of the location.  The photos are terrible.  The house looks very cluttered and the garden doesn't look appealing either. The large pool is not really a positive selling feature.  I think you really need to have a concerted effort to de-clutter (hard I know when you have kids) but necessary. The room sizes are very small so clearing a lot of the stuff will at least make them seem a bit more useable.  The conservatory just looks like a dumping ground and not appealing at all.  I know it sound harsh but if you really want to sell then something has to be done. I think realistically the price should be no more than £275k and possibly less.  A hard pill to swallow but if you want to sell then you have to be realistic and comparable.  It is in the price bracket for a lot of first time buyers or young couples, but if they come to look around it as it looks on the pics, they will immediately be put off as most younger buyers would want it to look modern, fresh and clutter free. They don't necessarily have the vision to see what it could become. Just trying to give constructive help.

yes it is where you think it is
fascinating to see an EA's take on life, load of flannel followed by reduce the price 

if it is getting viewers then the photos are not the problem
if it is gettering viewers but not offers then the house is the problem
the house is size v price,
EA wants max commission and sees the other two 5 beds are £290, but that does not mean this one also must be £290 if they actually want to get a sale and some real money 

That's very simplistic.

I viewed several houses where I hadn't seen any photographs because I asked the EA what was suitable for me and they took me around 4 or 5 houses in an afternoon (I was travelling some distance to view).

The house I live in at the moment had terrible photographs, and I'd written it off as an option, but was viewing a different one nearby and asked them to add it just because there was free time.  Walked through the door, found that it was much better than the photographs, and knew within 5 minutes it was the one to buy.

Thinking about it - the smallest bedroom on the photographs of mine had a day bed and lots of other furniture (and I thought it would be a useless room).  When I got there, they'd removed all that and put in a double bed and one wardrobe - made it look much more useable.  Had it still had the old furniture, perhaps I wouldn't have been able to look past it.

A house is perceived size, usability, location and required works (plus other bits) vs price.  People in the UK don't buy on £/m2.

it is no more simplistic than your post
I never said people buy on £/m - your comment just reaffirms that some people base decisions on perception but others can see past that to the facts.

It is a great shame that EAs have conditioned the market to "stage" a house when selling. Human psyche that is incapable of seeing past the physical presence in a room is given far too much credence. Irrational behaviour is a fact of life in the property game

swingaloo

Its easily found without the link from the info on the thread. I know a lot of posters have said that if you are getting viewers then the photos are not a problem but I dont agree.

How many viewers have you had?  If I were looking in the area then I wouldn't even consider the house because of the photos. Im sorry if this sounds harsh but the fact that it is so cluttered says to me that if you dont care enough to tidy it up for the photos to try to sell it then it implies that you are not fussy about caring for the place at all and I would wonder how neglected it was under all the clutter. 
I also think that the clutter is making the rooms look smaller than they would appear if it were tidy. It really isnt shown at its best. 
I would think your photos are putting a LOT of prospective buyers off and if they were encouraged to come and look then one of those may be the buyer you are desperate for.

I am one of those people who can see potential when I look round a house having moved several times and I hate the obviously staged look with flowers on the table, neat cushions  and coffee brewing and I kike a house to look lived in. That doesnt stop me visualising how it would look if we had it but honestly your photos would stop me even considering it.

I would have a complete declutter and revamp then get the agent to take new photos.

Titus_Wadd

Bit of a radical idea: Unless you have to move for work or similar, take it off the market and then relist it with a different agent.  

A house that has been not selling for 2 years is low down the listings on Rightmove when sorted for newest listings, which was my usual default search order.  

Get ready to market it straight after Xmas but in the meantime get all your family involved in ruthlessly clearing out their stuff - think of it as a pre-removal clear out, it'll make packing easier.  Aim to have nothing on display when the photographer takes the new pictures (I know it's mental but no toothpaste tube on the sink, or toilet duck behind the loo).

It goes against all my instincts to suggest this because I've always been able to see past folks belongings or choice of paint colour when I'm house hunting.  These days with so much online content showing impossibly tidy sterile show-homes - that is what folk want (even if it's all stacked in the garage).

Taking a listing down if it hasn't sold within 6 months is a pattern round where I live which doesn't seem the trend up North (where I'm from).  It gives time to regroup and relist at a good time of year.  Folk who have been browsing Rightmove for months get tired of seeing the same old houses, so reintroducing it afresh will catch a new wave of potential buyers.

Get the kids involved in "packing" their stuff ahead of the move.  If they can put 50% in boxes they will not feel "deprived".  If they can remember which box the required item is in then they can retrieve something vital.  When we had a dedicated playroom full of toys our kids rarely playing in there, they'd take stuff out of it. 

Take a break from selling but use the time to prepare to market it ruthlessly after Christmas.  I'd plump for the 4 bed with office description too.  I'd be ruthless with the garden - lose the pool, the swing set (unless you'll be taking it with you), put away the BBQ etc.  I know it's a pain but it will all be worth it.

Last word, if you don't need to move, I probably wouldn't sell if I'm not going to move up the property ladder or freeing up a good chunk of equity from my sale...but then I've had to sell in the past with negative equity which probably influences my point of view.

Tough love needed for help to declutter!

BarelySentientAI

Bookworm105 said:

BarelySentientAI said:

Bookworm105 said:

uralmaid said:

Obviously the link was removed but as I was an Estate Agent in Wakefield for a lot of years - I guessed where it could be and had a look. If I am right it is in C.......n?  Unfortunately that area was always priced slightly lower than some more desirable parts of the location.  The photos are terrible.  The house looks very cluttered and the garden doesn't look appealing either. The large pool is not really a positive selling feature.  I think you really need to have a concerted effort to de-clutter (hard I know when you have kids) but necessary. The room sizes are very small so clearing a lot of the stuff will at least make them seem a bit more useable.  The conservatory just looks like a dumping ground and not appealing at all.  I know it sound harsh but if you really want to sell then something has to be done. I think realistically the price should be no more than £275k and possibly less.  A hard pill to swallow but if you want to sell then you have to be realistic and comparable.  It is in the price bracket for a lot of first time buyers or young couples, but if they come to look around it as it looks on the pics, they will immediately be put off as most younger buyers would want it to look modern, fresh and clutter free. They don't necessarily have the vision to see what it could become. Just trying to give constructive help.

yes it is where you think it is
fascinating to see an EA's take on life, load of flannel followed by reduce the price 

if it is getting viewers then the photos are not the problem
if it is gettering viewers but not offers then the house is the problem
the house is size v price,
EA wants max commission and sees the other two 5 beds are £290, but that does not mean this one also must be £290 if they actually want to get a sale and some real money 

That's very simplistic.

I viewed several houses where I hadn't seen any photographs because I asked the EA what was suitable for me and they took me around 4 or 5 houses in an afternoon (I was travelling some distance to view).

The house I live in at the moment had terrible photographs, and I'd written it off as an option, but was viewing a different one nearby and asked them to add it just because there was free time.  Walked through the door, found that it was much better than the photographs, and knew within 5 minutes it was the one to buy.

Thinking about it - the smallest bedroom on the photographs of mine had a day bed and lots of other furniture (and I thought it would be a useless room).  When I got there, they'd removed all that and put in a double bed and one wardrobe - made it look much more useable.  Had it still had the old furniture, perhaps I wouldn't have been able to look past it.

A house is perceived size, usability, location and required works (plus other bits) vs price.  People in the UK don't buy on £/m2.

it is no more simplistic than your post
I never said people buy on £/m - your comment just reaffirms that some people base decisions on perception but others can see past that to the facts.

It is a great shame that EAs have conditioned the market to "stage" a house when selling. Human psyche that is incapable of seeing past the physical presence in a room is given far too much credence. Irrational behaviour is a fact of life in the property game

Your comment was:

If viewers = "yes" then photos = "ok".
If offers = "no" then house = "bad".
House = size / price.

Difficult for anything else to be as simplistic as that.

EAs haven't "conditioned the market to stage a house".  Humans find well presented things more attractive than poorly presented things.  Buying a home isn't an emotionless mathematical process.