Nearly 8 weeks on the market, any suggestions?

antilles

Hi, I put my house up for sale around 8 weeks ago. 9 viewings so far (including a second viewing). A couple of really low offers from landlords (175, 190).

Wonder if anyone would mind taking a nosey please and giving me any feedback?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151204895#/?channel=RES_BUY

I listed with Purplebricks (recommended by someone who recently sold using them) and took the photos myself. I'm also doing the viewings myself as I live nearby (moved out a while back). The house was previously rented out for a few years - it is quite tired inside so I've done some basic repainting to remove any dirt and given it a good clean. Agent advised listing at 230 (all the viewings happened at this price), I dropped to 220 recently to generate some more interest but viewings have totally died off.

I'm aware that there is an identical house a few streets away but a couple of viewers have mentioned that they already looked at it and it needs a lot of work (rotten doorframes in many rooms) and that mine was much better presented. Plus it is jammed in the corner and has parking issues, whereas mine is a corner plot with a ton of parking. A few viewers said they like the location and lack of houses opposite.

2 very interested parties so far - 1 has a house up for sale and haven't sold yet so can't offer. Person who came back for second viewing was having issues getting a mortgage (self-employed) and has dropped off the radar. Also had a guy who said he loved it but it's too expensive for him (cash buyer, max budget 200-210).

Agent thinks it's around the right price, backed up by having had plenty of viewings.

Am I just being impatient and perhaps also the market is a bit stagnant around this time? Or anything more fundamental that I missed?

Thanks for any advice!

ThorOdinson

It's overpriced. Black walls?

NervyBuyer

230 to 220 isn't much of a reduction. When I see that as a buyer it makes me think the vendor isn't that serious about selling. I'd like to think as a seller I'd take a cash buyer at 210 if I was listed at 220.

Did you get any feedback on why people didn't offer? Usually it's price if they haven't said anything negative about physical aspects of the property.

RHemmings

First, you have just told a whole lot of strangers on the internet where your house is. There's a warning up the top not to post links to your listing on RightMove for that reason. But, less of a privacy issue if it's an empty house, not the house you actually live in. Remember though that anyone nosey enough (and I'm probably among the most nosey here) can look up your title deeds and get your name and probably where you actually live. 

The reduction you made was one month and eight days after listing the house. That's quite soon, and some buyers may think you're eager to sell. Were the low offers before or after the reduction? 

The last house to sell in your road was in 2020, being No. 3. It sold for £180k. There's been some time since then, but it does look, to me, nicer than your house. 

The house for sale near to yours that looks most similar to yours is this one:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147396137#/?channel=RES_BUY

It's a bit cheaper at £210k, and has been on the market a while with a number of reductions.  Is this the one with the rotten door-frames? It doesn't look bad in the photos. 

Clearly you want more, but I don't think the £180k is a derisory offer, though it is low. Assuming that the previous property isn't the one with the problems. Did you make a counter-offer? 

housebuyer143

You know what, I really like your house. I like the location on the plot and the fact you have a nice sized garden with no overlookers, the rooms are good sizes and it's quite nicely presented.
It looks a little dark in the photos so you might be able to play with the exposure but otherwise I don't dislike anything about it. 

I'm not from the area, so can't comment on the price but I would view it based on those pictures and floorplan. 

Bigphil1474

Agree with above, looks a lovely house. Wrong side of the Pennines for me, and don't know the area, so can't comment on value. Tbh, if someone was a cash buyer and said they could go up to £210k on a £220k listing, I'd bite their hand off.  I'm sure you have your reasons not to.

The problem could be purple bricks itself - to get a viewing, you have to create an account on Purple Bricks and arrange it online through their site. A total PITA, I did it once, then avoided all Purple Bricks listings after that. You might have exhausted the people who can be bothered with their system, and the rest can't be.

Personally, I'd switch to a traditional EA. it's gonna cost you maybe two and a half £k when you sell but if you get an offer closer to what you want, it might be worth it. You can still do the viewings or get the EA to do it, but I think your pool of viewers will be bigger.

Obviously, bear in mind this time of year isn't traditionally a busy house buying period, and there's a government budget looming which could have a dramatic effect one way or another, it could be that in a month or two there are more viewings anyway. 

We put our house on the market in October last year, and although we had plenty of viewings and got an early low offer, we didn't actually accept an offer until January. That buyer pulled out and we resold in March, but we were happy with the price it was marketed at, and it gave us some wiggle room to come down. I think dropping your price after 5 weeks was probably a mistake, but i would leave it for now myself.

pinkshoes

Within a mile of your postcode there are 30 other properties for sale with at least 3 beds, of which 29 are cheaper than yours. 

So you're competing with a lot of other houses, and people will want to know why yours is more expensive and no doubt also looking at the others. You need to justify the extra £10k+  

Some of the photos look a little dark. The bathroom looks really dreary. Does the panel not match the bath? 

Also, photo 11 looks like your upstairs landing is either painted the colour of an upset stomach or it has just plaster and no paint?! I'd remove that photo. 

Photo 9 showing the stairs makes it look VERY narrow and pokey. I'd remove that too. 

Bonniepurple

A few things jump out at me, some of which are obviously not your responsibility:

Purple Bricks.  I’ve never bought or sold with them, but I prefer to have a good local, bricks and mortar estate agent who knows the local market.  Where I live there are 3 well established agencies, 1 new-ish one and 2 from neighbouring towns (10-12 miles away).  The latter 2 overprice considerably, as they don’t know the very specific area.

Parking.  One of the photos shows a car parked on a curved pavement.  That tells me it’s a typical new build estate with limited parking.  Great if you have one car.  Brilliant if your neighbours only have one car-but if you have 2 cars, plus a works van, and they have adult children with their own cars, it is less good.

The loft.  Why have a picture of it at all, especially when there seems to be a central beam of light coming down.  My first thought was that it was daylight and that would indicate a pretty dodgy roof.

EssexHebridean

One of the things that jumped out at me was that it generally looks dark - even with lights on, that tells me that I will need to have lights on all the time if I live there, and that’s not how I want to live! Now it probably isn’t that dark in real life, but the pictures aren’t doing it any favours I’m afraid. 

ReadingTim

The photos make it look dark and dingy, and the fact that it's unfurnished generally give it an unloved appearance.  Advertising is supposed to be selling us an aspirational lifestyle, not a dystopian nightmare.   That said, most people can see past all of that if the price is right.  

In short, it's overpriced to the point where the first digit needs to start with a 1...

Stubod

..as above, nothing in the ad suggests any problems, and nothing that would put me off. 

Actually looks like quite a nice property. 

Unfamiliar with the area, so can only assume it's overpriced???