Should we leave house on the market ?

MillyD123

Hi all,

We put our house on the market in January and have 2 unsuccessful viewings since. I'm considering taking it off the market and putting it back on maybe in Feb/March next year. There has been very little sold in our area this year and several neighbours who were selling have taken their houses off the market.

I don't think it reflects well on the house that it is for sale for so long with 2 price drops. Its a family home, 4 bed detached, 1/2 acre, 4 miles from Waterford City. Its disheartening and I would appreciate any advice.

Thank you,

jdsk2006

MillyD123 wrote: »

Hi all,

We put our house on the market in January and have 2 unsuccessful viewings since. I'm considering taking it off the market and putting it back on maybe in Feb/March next year. There has been very little sold in our area this year and several neighbours who were selling have taken their houses off the market.

I don't think it reflects well on the house that it is for sale for so long with 2 price drops. Its a family home, 4 bed detached, 1/2 acre, 4 miles from Waterford City. Its disheartening and I would appreciate any advice.

Thank you,

No i wouldn't take it off. I would look to see is there anything i could do to make the house more attractive for a start.
Have you signed a contract giving exclusivity to the EA?
why not have a try on www.sellityourself.ie??? some estate agents seem to have forgotten how to move property imo. The EA might just get motivated if they hear your looking to market the property on another avenue.

gaius c

MillyD123 wrote: »

Hi all,

We put our house on the market in January and have 2 unsuccessful viewings since. I'm considering taking it off the market and putting it back on maybe in Feb/March next year. There has been very little sold in our area this year and several neighbours who were selling have taken their houses off the market.

I don't think it reflects well on the house that it is for sale for so long with 2 price drops. Its a family home, 4 bed detached, 1/2 acre, 4 miles from Waterford City. Its disheartening and I would appreciate any advice.

Thank you,

Only two viewings this year???
If you're not getting bites, the price is too high.

Balmed Out

Id imagine Gaius C is correct and the price is too high. Have you looked at the price property register to see what similar house's have sold for? I'm in an area that many properties don't sell and its all down to being overpriced.

alibab

I bought in waterford in the last 6 months . There is a lot of buyers out there I was outbid on 3 and prices had increased in the last year . If it's just outside like you say there should be interest . I would look at the asking price and other things that might be holding it back .

I spent a long time looking all estate agents and believe me there are one or two where when I say asking price I would throw my eyes to heaven overpriced to what property price register had them selling for . On one occasion estate agent told me I was unrealistic if I thought a certain house would sell for a certain amount I made a offer and she laughed. Never came back to me or contacted me again and I saw on sold for 5,000 more than I offered , not only that I was willing to go higher than it sold for but I was not given the option only person lost out was the seller

TheDriver

photos could be crap, auctioneer could be one that everyone avoids, over priced. Maybe things you think are lovely are scaring people away e.g. dogs in the house, colour schemes, tiling. Or maybe its just too expensive.

BookBook

I only have experience of looking in Dublin but -
I only look at houses for sale that have adverts put up or refreshed recently.
Otherwise I assume-

- it is sale agreed but EA hasn’t bothered to update it on Daft/MyHome. This is so common with some estate agents .
- that it is not really for sale (vendor has mortgage issues)
- there is something wrong with the house (physically, or with area or neighbours or it is a negative equity sale etc)
- the vendors or EA are a pain.

I have seen houses up for a few weeks with no interest only to have the price dropped then get huge interest and go 30k above asking price.

I would agree that the price could be either too high or photos look bad. Also make sure it is up on Daft and MyHome.
Maybe check the property price register for houses that sold in your area and what price they sold at and which estate agents handled the sale.

MillyD123

Hi all,

thanks for your replies. The property price register shows a similar house sold for our asking price a few months ago. Maybe its just the market in Waterford that is slow at the moment. the EA says she has no problem selling 3 bed semis around the €100K mark in more urban areas ,but rural houses are not selling in our area at the moment.

I agree with the last poster BookBook and am worried that folks will assume there is a problem with the house , we have no neighbours and are mortgage approved.

I've tried to upload the Daft advert but it won't let me as I'm classed as a new user. Thanks again all.

John A

TheDriver wrote: »

photos could be crap, auctioneer could be one that everyone avoids, over priced. Maybe things you think are lovely are scaring people away e.g. dogs in the house, colour schemes, tiling. Or maybe its just too expensive.

Good photos are extremely important. Maybe hire a photographer to get some good shots (no flash)

handlemaster

MillyD123 wrote: »

Hi all,

thanks for your replies. The property price register shows a similar house sold for our asking price a few months ago. Maybe its just the market in Waterford that is slow at the moment. the EA says she has no problem selling 3 bed semis around the €100K mark in more urban areas ,but rural houses are not selling in our area at the moment.

I agree with the last poster BookBook and am worried that folks will assume there is a problem with the house , we have no neighbours and are mortgage approved.

I've tried to upload the Daft advert but it won't let me as I'm classed as a new user. Thanks again all.

why would this matter when you are selling ?

BeatNikDub

MillyD123 wrote: »

Hi all,

thanks for your replies. The property price register shows a similar house sold for our asking price a few months ago. Maybe its just the market in Waterford that is slow at the moment. the EA says she has no problem selling 3 bed semis around the €100K mark in more urban areas ,but rural houses are not selling in our area at the moment.

I agree with the last poster BookBook and am worried that folks will assume there is a problem with the house , we have no neighbours and are mortgage approved.

I've tried to upload the Daft advert but it won't let me as I'm classed as a new user. Thanks again all.

Get it on myhome.ie with new photos. It should be there anyway.
Jazz it up and refresh it.
Maybe ask for an open viewing after the EA has sent on the new jazzed up link on myhome.ie to their database?

gaius c

handlemaster wrote: »

why would this matter when you are selling ?

They are in a chain and need to be able to buy themselves in order to vacate the house for those who are buying it off them.

MillyD123 wrote: »

Hi all,

thanks for your replies. The property price register shows a similar house sold for our asking price a few months ago. Maybe its just the market in Waterford that is slow at the moment. the EA says she has no problem selling 3 bed semis around the €100K mark in more urban areas ,but rural houses are not selling in our area at the moment.

I agree with the last poster BookBook and am worried that folks will assume there is a problem with the house , we have no neighbours and are mortgage approved.

I've tried to upload the Daft advert but it won't let me as I'm classed as a new user. Thanks again all.

I don't know about you but I'd be slow to upload a link to my actual home on the internet.

johndaman66

gaius c wrote: »

I don't know about you but I'd be slow to upload a link to my actual home on the internet.

Why?

Lets face it, its on the internet anyway already being on daft...

the_syco

I'm guessing it's this; http://www.daft.ie/1711753

If not, ah well, here's my comments anyhoos.

From the top;
Photo 01; Heavy duty weed killer on the part where you park the car, weed and feed on the grass. Take the photo on a nice day. Currently it looks unkept, dull, and not really a family home.
Photo 02; Remove the two legged table, and put a TV on the box to the right. Get people to visualize them being there. Clean the floor, and shine it.
Photo 03; No comment
Photo 04; Swing the bed around 90 degrees, and maybe take another photo out the window if the view is in any way scenic.
Photo 05; Unless that's a picture of jaysus on the roof, consider some paint.
Photo 06; Good shot, also shows some of the outside.
Photo 07; Looks okay. Must get a load of water on the floor, however, but it doesn't have a tacky shower curtain. Consider a plastic or glass "curtain" at the side?
Photo 08; Take a photo when it's brighter, and remove that thing off the ground in front of the shower.
Photo 09; Good photo. Nice and bright. Consider it a template for the other bathroom shots.
Photo 10; Excellent shot. Shows the inside colours, as well as the outside. Consider as a template for the other not so good bedroom shots.
Photo 11; Da fuq is this? Napalm Weed and feed the entire area for a few weeks, and then trim it back. Take a photo on a nice blue day, after you mow the lawn. Get some half decent free chairs and a table off adverts or local newspaper, and put them on the grass to give the place some sort of feature.

Photos 1 and 11 (and to a lesser point, photo 2) makes the house looks like lots of work. Heck, it looks dire. Some weed and feed would make the place look a lot nicer.

JimsAlterEgo

you alsp would need to consider the anmount of work needed to finish the outside, that would put a lot of people off.

ABajaninCork

I agree with the syco. If that is your house? The bathroom looks nice, but the whole place looks cold and cheerless. It looks unloved. The house as it stands puts buyers off - They'll think because you can't be bothered, why should they buy the house? They might think the place needs a lot of work, and the amount/price of the work is putting them off. Was the house rented? It looks like a rent house...

Clean the place from top to bottom. The paint looks OK from the pix, but if not, a bucket of cheap white emulsion will do the job!
Dress the rooms properly. Doesn't need to cost a lot - for instance, you could get a cheap fruit bowl from the pound shop, put some fruit in it, and place it in the kitchen. Make sure the worktops are kept clean, clean the oven and the hob. Clean out the cupboards.
Show the bedrooms as bedrooms. Put beds in there - get them from the skip if necessary! Make the beds and put some flowers or cheap knick knacks in there.
Dress the living room properly. Get rid of the furniture or re-arrange the room properly. Put up a few cheap pictures. When clients come along to view, then light the fire or put the heating on. Have the TV on. Light candles.

Are you able to turf the outside, and put a bit of gravel down?

You want the house sold? You need to spend a few quid getting the house ready. It's not enough to call the EA and tell them to take a few pix and put the house up for sale. You have to do a bit of work too.

MillyD123

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the comments but that's not my house. Mine is much nicer ;-) Seriously though, I'm a big fan of Sarah Beaney and her style of home makeover programmes, so I know what needs doing when trying to sell. My house is freshly painted, neutral colours, uncluttered, clean, tidy etc.... I don't think that is the issue. Maybe the price is still too high, even though its the same as a similar house sold for or maybe its just that there aren't many buyers looking in my area at the moment and its just a matter of playing the waiting game.

gaius c

MillyD123 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the comments but that's not my house. Mine is much nicer ;-) Seriously though, I'm a big fan of Sarah Beaney and her style of home makeover programmes, so I know what needs doing when trying to sell. My house is freshly painted, neutral colours, uncluttered, clean, tidy etc.... I don't think that is the issue. Maybe the price is still too high, even though its the same as a similar house sold for or maybe its just that there aren't many buyers looking in my area at the moment and its just a matter of playing the waiting game.

Maybe there's a reason their house sold while yours is not getting any viewings? Well there is a reason and you need to work out what it is.

If you're not even getting people in the door to have a peek, there is something very badly wrong and it could be down to:
1. EA not bothering
2. Priced too high that they wouldn't even consider looking at the house and chancing a cheeky lowball offer
3. Something very wrong with the ad

JimsAlterEgo

gaius c wrote: »

Maybe there's a reason their house sold while yours is not getting any viewings? Well there is a reason and you need to work out what it is.

If you're not even getting people in the door to have a peek, there is something very badly wrong and it could be down to:
1. EA not bothering
2. Priced too high that they wouldn't even consider looking at the house and chancing a cheeky lowball offer
3. Something very wrong with the ad

or its not really similar?

iguana

MillyD123 wrote: »

I don't think it reflects well on the house that it is for sale for so long with 2 price drops.

I'd be surprised if it was at all possible for you to hide this information. When I was househunting I googled any house and street I was interested in. It showed up instantly if it had been on the market previously and for how long if it had, along with any price drops. I can't imagine that other potential purchasers don't do similar before making a bid.

duckcfc

OP, your best posting your link up so you can get few tips. I done this last year, I was abit reluctant to do it but after I did, I was happy because I got a few pointers. In fact, it gained quite a lot of interest in my property. I eventually took it off the market thou as my circumstances changed but that's after a few where ready to put an offer in.

johndaman66

jmayo wrote: »

Price drops are usually necessary since the seller/EA has overvalued the house in the first place.

I am forever of the opinion that the market values a house as opposed to an Estate Agent.

Within the last month or 5 weeks I viewed 3 houses in my local town....all very very similar houses in terms of size, layout; year built; BER rating; the estates they were in etc. 2 being in the same estate. Each had their own little plusses and minuses all the same though. In the end there was really very little to choose between the houses and it very much boiled down to the level of finish inside and the furniture included and of course the price.

The first house of the 3 of them I viewed was being sold by a couple and asking 122k but the Estate Agent told me he reckoned it could be had for around 114k or 115k. The house was being carried by another Estate Agent also. I put an offer of 112k in on the house and it was rejected so I went to 113k. In and around the same time the husband (vendor) went to the other Estate Agent and apparently that Estate Agent told him the house was worth 118k. Despite me going up to 114k, then 115k, then 115,500 there was absolutely no movement whatsoever from the vendor...they were hell bent on 118k after hearing that news from the other EA.

Now at the end of the day the vendor was very much entitled to stop at the price they liked - I dont take issue with that. What I do take issue with is the other knob of an Estate Agent making that call- as he had absolutely no basis in doing so....Its worth 118k???... but how my dear man? I would really like to know his basis on arriving at that figure as opposed to 115k for argument sake. Fair enough if a very very similar house sold in that estate in recent times for a comparable figure but there hasn't being such a sale..in fact not a lot of selling activity in the town full stop of late...and when I say similar I mean similar down to the level of finish inside as lets face it theres not a lot of difference between 115k and 118k. In my opinion the other Estate Agent was a knob who most likely wanted to make the sale himself...wasn't worried about the vendor, but worried on missing out in the commission. I would have gone higher but seen ad the vendor was so hell bent on 118k I left it with him, as the other 2 houses were more attractive at their asking. Perhaps more fool the vendor for listening to him but anyway....

gaius c

johndaman66 wrote: »

I am forever of the opinion that the market values a house as opposed to an Estate Agent.

Within the last month or 5 weeks I viewed 3 houses in my local town....all very very similar houses in terms of size, layout; year built; BER rating; the estates they were in etc. 2 being in the same estate. Each had their own little plusses and minuses all the same though. In the end there was really very little to choose between the houses and it very much boiled down to the level of finish inside and the furniture included and of course the price.

The first house of the 3 of them I viewed was being sold by a couple and asking 122k but the Estate Agent told me he reckoned it could be had for around 114k or 115k. The house was being carried by another Estate Agent also. I put an offer of 112k in on the house and it was rejected so I went to 113k. In and around the same time the husband (vendor) went to the other Estate Agent and apparently that Estate Agent told him the house was worth 118k. Despite me going up to 114k, then 115k, then 115,500 there was absolutely no movement whatsoever from the vendor...they were hell bent on 118k after hearing that news from the other EA.

Now at the end of the day the vendor was very much entitled to stop at the price they liked - I dont take issue with that. What I do take issue with is the other knob of an Estate Agent making that call- as he had absolutely no basis in doing so....Its worth 118k???... but how my dear man? I would really like to know his basis on arriving at that figure as opposed to 115k for argument sake. Fair enough if a very very similar house sold in that estate in recent times for a comparable figure but there hasn't being such a sale..in fact not a lot of selling activity in the town full stop of late...and when I say similar I mean similar down to the level of finish inside as lets face it theres not a lot of difference between 115k and 118k. In my opinion the other Estate Agent was a knob who most likely wanted to make the sale himself...wasn't worried about the vendor, but worried on missing out in the commission. I would have gone higher but seen ad the vendor was so hell bent on 118k I left it with him, as the other 2 houses were more attractive at their asking. Perhaps more fool the vendor for listening to him but anyway....

Vendors are holding the market to ransom.
It won't continue indefinitely.

johndaman66

gaius c wrote: »

Vendors are holding the market to ransom.
It won't continue indefinitely.

True but but in my example it was the Estate Agent who was the culpurit. I have been studying house prices on Daft in my locality for a long time and during the time of the considerable price drops bit would seem a lot of vendors were overtaken by the market on the way down. For example they may have advertised their house for 200k which was an unrealistic figure but eventually copped bit and dropped the price slowly bit by bit to 120k where bit may or may not sell.

I cant help but think big they were smarter about bit and priced their house at a more realistic and competitive 150k at that point in time...at that price they may have being ahead of the market and sold their house for a higher price sooner...

gaius c

Chasing the market down. Fairly common phenomenon. Property prices are always stickier on the way down as everybody is convinced that their place is "special" and worth more.

johndaman66

gaius c wrote: »

Chasing the market down. Fairly common phenomenon. Property prices are always stickier on the way down as everybody is convinced that their place is "special" and worth more.

Yeah I know such a phenomenon is to exist in a falling market but what really surprised me was how people didn't seem to see the wood from the trees. Price drops were considerable. The people who had their house priced cheaper day one invariably sold for a lot lot higher than those who eventually had to drop the price by a pretty penny if they were realistic about selling and wanted to sell. Got to the point where the market had overtaken them by such amounts that they had to drop their prices by massive amounts to sell....the scale of it all. A little foresight may have went a long way

gaius c

It's understandable enough though. The worry would be that pricing low would mean ending up even lower. People who do this for a living will understand such stuff but a lot of people don't and it's not like they'll sell enough houses to get practised at it either.