Flat has been on the market for 3 weeks now, and I've not had many viewing requests - is there anyth

Slashrfnr

I've had my 2 bedroom, 2 bath flat located in South East London on the market for 3 weeks now but I've only had 7 enquiries, of which 4 turned into viewings (1 of the viewers liked it but wanted a more modern kitchen, 1 of them the state agent was convinced was going to make an offer the following day, but then disappeared). I can understand people enquiring and then deciding against viewing if they find out more and realise it doesn't meet their specs (e.g the block doesn't have a lift, and they have a young child in a pushchair)

I know the market is not great at the moment and people are wary of leasehold, but is there anything in the advert which is putting people off at last enquiring about the property, and any suggestions on how I can improve the listing? So far I've been led by what my Estate Agent thinks is best.

It won't let me post links, but if you add [Removed by Forum Team] after the rightmove web address, you will find it.

I know price will come up in the comments, so some context. I had 6 Estate Agents come round to value it

• 1 estate agent valued it at £295,000 to £315,000, and wanted to put it on at Offers in Excess of £300,000 (but I've seen what people say here about OIEO)

• 3 valued it at £300,000 to £325,000 (one said it in a more normal market and without general concerns about leasehold, it would be £350,000-£375,000). They all wanted to list at £325,000 to factor in offers under

• 1 valued it at £325,000 to £350,000, wanting to list at £350,000, which priced in offers under

• 1 valued it at £350,000

I ultimately went with the Estate Agent who valued it at £325,000 to £350,000. They had the best stats out of the 6 in terms of number of instructions to completions, and similar or better on achieving the sale price. However, given the majority of people my valuations had come in at £325,000, and I'd seen similar properties in my area sell at that price (e.g /properties/163340717#/?channel=RES_BUY), I chose to list at £325,000.

I bought this in 2019 for £325,000, so not at the mad prices of 2022. That said, I'm realistic that the economic climate is different now, and that I may not get £325,000, so it's priced at £325,000 to factor in that people will offer under the asking price.

I did have a conversation about lowering the price, but my estate agent (who is on a fixed fee so sale price is irrelevant to his final payment) was dead against it at this stage, given it's quite big compared to other flats in the area (2 large double rooms, and 2 bathrooms, and a large open plan kitchen and lounge), adamant it was worth £325,000. He also felt that if I lowered it, people may wonder if there is something wrong with the flat (which is something a neighbour experienced when they were trying to sell last year). I didn't bother getting into it with him about the market is the ultimate decider of what something is worth.

He did say the market is just very subdued at the moment, and they aren't seeing as much interest in many of their properties ( they listed a house at the weekend and would normally expect 175-200 clicks on Rightmove, but only got 90)

Slashrfnr

Thank you!

gwynlas

 Very good sized flat to my mind  and a fair price but there are a few things that might be putting off viewers though you have had four which is good in current market.
I dislike the open storage for shoes and coats as they look out of place in dining area and just about acceptable at front door.
The desk and chair are very prominent in living area possibly giving people the impression you are never away from work.
The appliances are not integrated so when using washing machine you would be very aware of the noise throughout reception room.
There are a number of other areas that look like they could be decluttered and depersonalised suggesting a lack of storage,
Whether people click through depends on visuals so anything that doesn't impress on first glance will be an obstacle to them looking further

user1977

Why no basic information about the lease in the listing?

What's the status of the cladding on the building?

kimwp

If the clicks are down, there's not much you can do about that.

But I think the pictures could be better:

Don't include the dining area in the first pic - can you get a pic that just shows the living room with the view.

Iron duvets (I don't do this normally- but for photos, yes)

Declutter - don't have the fan showing in the bedroom pic and only have one thing on that surface, remove the shoe rack at the end of the room. Get rid of the tall thin shelves in the living room by the desk (and maybe put the desk along the back wall so it appears more separate). Move the coats to the hallway. Take the desk out of the bedroom. Move the dining table away from the wall so it doesn't look like it's up against it for lack of space. Maybe even get rid of the partitioning shelves or move them to the back wall also.

Albermarle

I bought this in 2019 for £325,000, so not at the mad prices of 2022. That said, I'm realistic that the economic climate is different now, and that I may not get £325,000, so it's priced at £325,000 to factor in that people will offer under the asking price.

According to Land Registry data, flats in London went up marginally in price over that period.
They went down in 2023 and part of 2024, but previous to that had gone up. They have hardly moved in the last 15 months.
If we say the current market is a bit flat, then I think the EA is right that £325K or thereabouts look about right.
The flat looks quite nice.
Three weeks is not very long, maybe you are being a bit impatient.

poseidon1

I don't know if I am typical, but if a listing does not detail annual service charges, length of lease and ground rents I will not consider it.

These are fundamental details that enable a like for like comparison in drawing up a short list of viewing possibilities. Estate agents who are too lazy or inefficient to incorporate such basic information are an immediate source of irritation from my perspective. Getting your listing updated for this data  might approve things a little.

That said I am familiar with your part of London, and as new builds go and for the space on offer the pricing does not seem OTT as long as service charges are not outrageously high.

One observation however is the block appears to be  partially clad ( so overtones of potential Grenfell remedial issues), so the fewer and perhaps better informed flat buyer maybe avoiding such flats on principle in favour of period conversions which abound in SE London.

mta999

Agree totally with @poseidon1 - the listing should include these otherwise many won't even look at it

Bigphil1474

Our EA said the time to worry was when we weren't getting any viewings. If it's only been 3 weeks, it's not time to worry, or consider reducing price either. In a subdued market , I'd be waiting a couple of months before I reconsider. We put ours up in October 2023 and sold first in January, then again in March 2024. We got a steady stream of viewings. Always worth changing the bits as others have said, but I'd also recommend a bit more patience. 

Chief_of_Staffy

Personally I wouldn't buy leasehold again, but back when I was looking at them I would immediately discount any listing that said along the lines of, "For details of the leasehold, including the length of lease, annual service charge and ground rent, please contact the agent"

I refused to ring an agent, waste my time with answerphones and callbacks, listen to their sales talk, give my details and get put on their 'marketing list' just in order to get a key piece of information that should have been provided in the first place.

And I don't think I'm alone here. (Edit - and if I'd read the thread fully I would have seen that I'm not)

born_again

mta999 said:

Agree totally with @poseidon1 - the listing should include these otherwise many won't even look at it

Another to agree. Daughter is looking to move out. This is her biggest complaint about flats. The most important thing that has to be factored into affordability.
Pointless viewing & starting process, only to find later on that no way can you afford the flat due to fee's.

Should really be compulsory in estate agents sales details.