Viewings fallen off, should I change estate agents?

Surrey_EA

Albermarle said:

Uriziel said:

I don't think people care too much about estate agents so changing them probably would not make much of a difference. People go online to view properties and that's about it. Do you think another agent will start cold calling? It sounds to me as if you simply want the price that you have decided on. If you are not willing to decrease the price to get a sale you will just have to sit on it and wait. There is nothing else you can do. I also do not think that a garden is much of a selling point. People want to live in the actual house and not in the garden. If the house is crappy why would anyone spend a fortune just to have a nice garden? It sounds like the price is quite high. People who have a lot of money to spend want a good house and not just a big garden and can afford it. It sounds like you are asking too much for the property and tell yourself that it's fine because there is a big garden to go with it. You also write that it is in line with the rest of the houses. If your agent said your garden justifies the price it means that the property actually is not worth the price at all and you are just hoping for someone to really want the garden. I would decrease the price and get it over and done with instead of endlessly waiting hoping for a rich man to come along and make your year. Accept that there is supply and demand and there does not seem to be much demand for your property irrelevant of how you feel about the price.

However as said in an earlier post, if the house was generally desirable, but overpriced, you would have expected at least to see some offers, even if significantly below the asking price.
They seem to have had only one offer, which makes you think there is something else putting buyers off, as well as it maybe being too high an asking price. 

Because of how people search for homes these days, where you sit in the price bands on Rightmove is important.

Keen to get the best price, sellers will often ask what is wrong with ‘going high’, believing that their initial guide price represents the maximum achievable and that buyers can always make an offer. Buyers, though, want the best house they can afford and will not look at anything else. If your house is in their range but doesn’t appear to offer what they think they can get for their money, they will not consider it at any price. Conversely, less wealthy buyers for whom your price is even 10% above their maximum, assume you will be insulted by a low offer, so they will not look at your house, either. Indeed, if your price is outside the thresholds set when buyers search online, they won’t even be aware that your property is on the market. 

Albermarle

Surrey_EA said:

Albermarle said:

Uriziel said:

I don't think people care too much about estate agents so changing them probably would not make much of a difference. People go online to view properties and that's about it. Do you think another agent will start cold calling? It sounds to me as if you simply want the price that you have decided on. If you are not willing to decrease the price to get a sale you will just have to sit on it and wait. There is nothing else you can do. I also do not think that a garden is much of a selling point. People want to live in the actual house and not in the garden. If the house is crappy why would anyone spend a fortune just to have a nice garden? It sounds like the price is quite high. People who have a lot of money to spend want a good house and not just a big garden and can afford it. It sounds like you are asking too much for the property and tell yourself that it's fine because there is a big garden to go with it. You also write that it is in line with the rest of the houses. If your agent said your garden justifies the price it means that the property actually is not worth the price at all and you are just hoping for someone to really want the garden. I would decrease the price and get it over and done with instead of endlessly waiting hoping for a rich man to come along and make your year. Accept that there is supply and demand and there does not seem to be much demand for your property irrelevant of how you feel about the price.

However as said in an earlier post, if the house was generally desirable, but overpriced, you would have expected at least to see some offers, even if significantly below the asking price.
They seem to have had only one offer, which makes you think there is something else putting buyers off, as well as it maybe being too high an asking price. 

Because of how people search for homes these days, where you sit in the price bands on Rightmove is important.

Keen to get the best price, sellers will often ask what is wrong with ‘going high’, believing that their initial guide price represents the maximum achievable and that buyers can always make an offer. Buyers, though, want the best house they can afford and will not look at anything else. If your house is in their range but doesn’t appear to offer what they think they can get for their money, they will not consider it at any price. Conversely, less wealthy buyers for whom your price is even 10% above their maximum, assume you will be insulted by a low offer, so they will not look at your house, either. Indeed, if your price is outside the thresholds set when buyers search online, they won’t even be aware that your property is on the market. 

Although the usual advice dished out to buyers on this forum, is to also look one price bracket above their actual price range.
Maybe nobody listens 

Herzlos

There's definitely a risk to having an asking price just above one of the filter bandings. A house for sale for £151k won't show up if the user is searchin for under £150k.

But I'd assume most buyers would have a slightly wider search, looking at least one bracket above especially in England where it's common to offer below. Less so in Scotland where you're almost certainly offering over.

Myci85

When you say it is priced lower than comparable properties, how much lower? If it needs quite a bit of work doing, buyers have to factor in not just the cost of doing the work (building materials are at a premium at the moment) but also the hassle and time to do it. So if it's only a bit lower than houses they could move straight in and do nothing, they may choose to pay a bit more for those. Obviously there are people who would rather do the work and make it their own, but not everyone has the time or energy to do that. 

twopenny

Cost of doing things up has escalated considerably and the availability of trades.
I've been looking out of curiosity in my area and there are quite a few decent properties hanging on the market and most need work doing or are with online agents.
Most return to local agents then have to wait for new buyers to search because these places have originally been dismissed by those who had been looking.

Have you done the tidying of the frontage and made it welcoming? Declutter and cleaned to within an inch of its life? 
What are the photos like? Are they good? Garden in flower, light coming in?
You can ask for new and better photos.
I asked for some of mine to be used because they showed it off to its best.

ReadySteadyPop

Herzlos said:

Some people still use PB, and they are cheap for sellers. Have a look at the threads on here about it.

ReadySteadyPop said:

Herzlos said:

Bigphil1474 said:

Whilst I would agree price is important, it's not always the main issue. If buyers are interested but they think it's a bit over priced, they'll put a low offer in, they won't just ignore it. That's what we did. We had a budget of up to around £350k last year but we looked at houses up to around £400k, and offered within budget. 

Have you gotten someone with a streak of blunt honesty to take a look at the listing. Maybe get them to do a dummy viewing. It could be the EA is rubbish at answering the phone or isn't flexible on appointments, or it could be the pictures. It could be all sorts. However, unless it's way over priced, it's not just gonna be price IMO. Any chance you could do some of the work you know needs doing to make it more appealing? 

That's my thinking. I'd be more put off by a bad estate agent or crap pictures than I would by the price being 10% too high.

So I'd revisit that first. I'd definitely recommend the dummy enquiry too and see if something the estate agent is doing to put people off.

Is it a reputable local agent or a cheap online one?

Really? For someone buying with a mortgage that could be extra interest they don`t need to pay on their debt if they negotiate, and if the lender says price too high many people don`t have the extra cash on hand to indulge a seller.

Listing price isn't the sale price though. People will view a nice house that's priced a bit high and bid lower.
People won't go and view house with a bad listing, or via an estate agent that's hard to work with.

 That is a fair point.

ReadySteadyPop

crow22 said:

Listing price isn't the sale price though. People will view a nice house that's priced a bit high and bid lower.
People won't go and view house with a bad listing, or via an estate agent that's hard to work with.

Yes thats my previous experience so its a bit of a mystery why viewings have fallen off. I dont think we will change EA, they are a good local established firm and we have a good relationship with them. The house is also not over priced, in fact its a bit low compared to comparable properties in the area but thats because it need some modernising inside. I do wonder though if people are not seeing the listing because its been on the market for a while and slipped down the list? I did a search on Rightmove last night and ours was way down at the bottom of the last page of six.

No mystery really, mortgage debt is much more pricey than it used to be, and look at SKY news today on the drop in numbers coming into the country, that all feeds into sentiment and demand.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/mortgage-rates-set-to-creep-up-after-surprise-jump-in-uk-inflation/

Herzlos

ReadySteadyPop said:

crow22 said:

Listing price isn't the sale price though. People will view a nice house that's priced a bit high and bid lower.
People won't go and view house with a bad listing, or via an estate agent that's hard to work with.

Yes thats my previous experience so its a bit of a mystery why viewings have fallen off. I dont think we will change EA, they are a good local established firm and we have a good relationship with them. The house is also not over priced, in fact its a bit low compared to comparable properties in the area but thats because it need some modernising inside. I do wonder though if people are not seeing the listing because its been on the market for a while and slipped down the list? I did a search on Rightmove last night and ours was way down at the bottom of the last page of six.

No mystery really, mortgage debt is much more pricey than it used to be, and look at SKY news today on the drop in numbers coming into the country, that all feeds into sentiment and demand.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/mortgage-rates-set-to-creep-up-after-surprise-jump-in-uk-inflation/

Can you link to the Sky news article you mention?

ReadySteadyPop

Herzlos said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

crow22 said:

Listing price isn't the sale price though. People will view a nice house that's priced a bit high and bid lower.
People won't go and view house with a bad listing, or via an estate agent that's hard to work with.

Yes thats my previous experience so its a bit of a mystery why viewings have fallen off. I dont think we will change EA, they are a good local established firm and we have a good relationship with them. The house is also not over priced, in fact its a bit low compared to comparable properties in the area but thats because it need some modernising inside. I do wonder though if people are not seeing the listing because its been on the market for a while and slipped down the list? I did a search on Rightmove last night and ours was way down at the bottom of the last page of six.

No mystery really, mortgage debt is much more pricey than it used to be, and look at SKY news today on the drop in numbers coming into the country, that all feeds into sentiment and demand.

https://propertyindustryeye.com/mortgage-rates-set-to-creep-up-after-surprise-jump-in-uk-inflation/

Can you link to the Sky news article you mention?

Just look it up or switch on SKY, it is a main headline.

victor2

crow22 said:

Listing price isn't the sale price though. People will view a nice house that's priced a bit high and bid lower.
People won't go and view house with a bad listing, or via an estate agent that's hard to work with.

Yes thats my previous experience so its a bit of a mystery why viewings have fallen off. I dont think we will change EA, they are a good local established firm and we have a good relationship with them. The house is also not over priced, in fact its a bit low compared to comparable properties in the area but thats because it need some modernising inside. I do wonder though if people are not seeing the listing because its been on the market for a while and slipped down the list? I did a search on Rightmove last night and ours was way down at the bottom of the last page of six.

I would always go for a local well established estate agent. Have you asked them why they think it's not getting viewings? Of course everyone looks on Rightmove now, but it's the process after an offer comes in that is just as important.
Our best local EA has been around for decades. They do charge in the higher range of commissions, but don't charge for EPC, photography, or listing. So they've got incentive to get it sold. Others charge a lower commission, but charge up front for everything and invariably start with an unrealistic valuation. We know someone who has been with a "cheaper" one for two years. Three sales have fallen through due to problems back in the chain, but one of those is hopefully proceeding now.