estate agents-- what more can they do?

dprovan

Hi

Ive had my house up for sale for approx 6 weeks now and have only had two viewings so far :eek: . I am in N. Ireland so whilst the market is slowing a little here it is nothing like England.

Ive had chats in passing with estate agents who say things are very slow on everything, wrong time of year all that stuff, not really too concerned. I asked if they had got any feedback on the viewings to which they replied no we haven't actually, clearly they don't pro-actively ask for feedback....


Deep down I fear it is priced too high as it is in a good area and should attract interest, it is the biggest and most expensive in the area, so I always knew it would taker a bit longer to seel but I didn't expect there to be such a problem getting folks in the door..

So to my question is there anything else (other than putting the details in shop) that my or any estate agent should be doing to sell my house. Re the price although this was set by two estate agents and not me I could'nt sell for much less and still get the type of house I want so don't see much point in reducing price now.

bridiej

They are spinning you a line.

our house went on the market on 22nd July, full asking price offer received on Saturday after three viewings, had another viewing on Saturday that was arranged before offer received and she offered this morning too.

Your house will sell if it's competitively priced, pure and simple. There are two other houses on our road that have been for sale for over 12 months purely as they are over priced.

Two agents valued our house at £165K and we also investigated the area to see what we were competing against and felt this was indeed the right price, and we had four viewings arranged by the agent last week.

I know you probably dont want to hear it but if you want to get people through the door then you may need to drop a few grand...

ethansmum

I'm going to disagree with you Bridie. We have had our house on the market for 3 weeks now, without any viewings. Ours is in an excellant area and is one of the cheapest- priced lower for a quick sale. In the whole area only 2 houses out of about 20 (prices ranginging form £200k to £550k) or so have sold in the last 4 months. Although I agree that it might entice more people to view if you dropped your price, I do honestly think that the market is very slow(Well in Doncaster it is!).

I think it could well be the wrong time of year. That said we are in the process of re-writing the brochure ourselves and will be pushing the estate agents into marketing the house more actively.

Best of luck!

meanmachine_2

Good news, Bridie.

Even in times of slow down, good properties, reasonably priced always sell. Why wouldn't they?

If Bridie hadn't been sensible, read up on the state of the market and gone with a reasonable price (rather than slapping 10% on top like some vendors seem to...or used to at least), then it could have stuck on the market and gotten stale.

As a potential buyer I can sniff out a stale property like a bloodhound!

dprovan

go get them meanmachine!!!

no in all seriousness thanks for all the replys, I am afraid I am far to impatient for anything to get stale, it will be off the market long before then if nothing happens.

I won't drop the price just now, that will be the last resort....Like ethansmum houses here in the same price range are not moving either, the two houses I have bid on have no other bids!!!

I don't have to move so I won't be selling any bargains, I will either sell at a price I feel is worth my while or I won't sell at all.

cheers

trevbob

If you're not getting offers then there's obviously something you can be doing. problem is if they're pricing at "market rate" and all your potential buyers are a bit savvier thinking they'll wait 6 months and all asking prices will have dropped 10% then you're in stalemate.

meanmachine_2

dprovan wrote:

I don't have to move so I won't be selling any bargains, I will either sell at a price I feel is worth my while or I won't sell at all.

cheers

Maybe potential buyers are sensing this vibe off you?

Hopefully sellers packs will clear out the deadwood (no offence), leaving only motivated vendors.

And a property is only worth what a buyer is prepared to pay, not what you think it's worth.

In 10 years' time it could be "worth" £1m, or 50p. That's up to the buyer. Sorry!

bridiej

Only other advice I can give is make sure your house looks as good as possible from the outside. Many buyers (and I've done this myself in the past) like to drive by the house before they approach the agent for a viewing and if it looks a mess chances are they wont bother.

I know you are all saying "it's the time of year" and yes, I thought it would be slow too but as I said, we've had four viewings and two offers in a week so it cant be that bad....

Doozergirl

If it isn't price, are you with the right agent? You say your house is big and expensive - are you with a 'we sell big houses' agent? If I were looking for a big and expensive house, I probably would not register with the regular high street branches as I wouldn't consider them to have my type of property. There are a couple of agents in my area who tend to get the plum jobs - and actively sell for their money too! If your agent isn't even seeking feedback, I'd be concerned.

Greentea

dprovan wrote:

Hi

Ive had my house up for sale for approx 6 weeks now and have only had two viewings so far :eek: . I am in N. Ireland so whilst the market is slowing a little here it is nothing like England.

Im curious what agent you are with? I have found (also in NI) the smaller independant agents are very slow to get the right people in the door. I have a house for sale a the minute 4 weeks 2 viewers, house in same street has had loads of viewers in to double figures they are with UPS. I purposely didnt go with them thinking people viewing their house would come and see mine .... doesnt look like it. Im very temped to change and soon.

Maybe consider a different agent before dropping price. See if they agree with the asking price.

dprovan

thanks again for the replys

meanmachine, the problem isn't my vibe.... the problem is no-one is looking they can't be getting a vibe from me when they aren't coming. I do want to sell but... please here this.... I don't think anyone is doing me a favour by buying... I am very clear I am selling something I value and if no-one values it as I do then so be it, I can be flexible but Im not looking for a blood hound for me to fall and die at their feet....

bridiej, thanks for the advice, I have been looking for over 2 years now so like you have noticed what looks cared for and not, all the windows are freshly painted and the garden is always neat, hanging baskets etc etc, so I hope its not that...

Doozergirl- it is the best estate agent re reputation, I have to say they have always impressed me greatly with their attitude, presentation etc, however I agree I was very disapointed they didn't follow up viewings for feedback. I think I'll get on to them re this, otherwise how will I know why the few who have viewed didn't want to take it further.