Need some property advice. First time seller - mucked it up

[sira]

It's my first time selling a property. I put my house up for sale 1 week ago. It was valued at 550-575k by multiple estate agents. As there were only a few properties for sale in the area (chronic shortage), the estate agent recommended starting with a guide price of 570k and reducing the price later if needed. So, I proceeded to pop it up for sale. In the first week, I had circa 750 views, 0 enquiries and 0 viewing requests. I'm fully aware that Christmas is notoriously a slow time, plus there is the added complication of covid but I wasn't expecting it to be this bad. My house is in excellent condition with a great floorplan, driveway, garden, near the station, and house overlooks green space. Today, a local estate agent has listed FOUR houses for sale in the area, including one on my road. They've all listed around 575k, including one which is comparable to mine, has been listed for 550k (20k cheaper than mine, but has around 25sqm less floor space).

I can't believe another estate agent has listed four properties in one day, its left me very furious and upset about the situation. Now I'm planning to reduce the price of mine to 550k, because I need a quick sale. But I've been reading that a price reduction in a short space of time is frowned upon?

Reason why I need to sell fast: I'm on a very good day rate right now, and I've found a property that I want in an area that I would never have imagined being able to move to or afford. However, I need to make a formal mortgage application by 28th February at the latest because my current contract ends at the end of March, and the lenders I'm going with require at least 1 month remaining on your current contract. Whilst this is all on-going, I will of course be looking for my next gig, and try to achieve the same rate but the markets looking a bit flat right now.

If I end up missing out on my mortgage deadline, is it wiser to sell up and rent (i.e. go chain free) or keep my current house until I find another gig with a suitable day rate and give it another shot? Not sure which is better, because putting up the same house for sale more than once in a short space of time may appear off-putting to potential buyers.

Note - by "quick sale", I mean I need to find a buyer for my house and also get an offer accepted on the property I'm going to buy by 28th February. Looking to complete in July

[NotAllThere]

Your house is worth what you can sell it for.

So what if another estate agents has just listed four for some arbitrary price. Doesn't mean they'll get any viewings either.

If you want a quick sale, then drop the price. It's not difficult.

[sira]

Your house is worth what you can sell it for.

So what if another estate agents has just listed four for some arbitrary price. Doesn't mean they'll get any viewings either.

If you want a quick sale, then drop the price. It's not difficult.

Do you think a price reduction in such a short space of time would look bad to perspective buyers?

[hobnob]

I can't believe another estate agent has listed four properties in one day, its left me very furious and upset about the situation.

I can see why that might be frustrating, but the estate agent hasn't done anything wrong; if those 4 home owners all decided to put their properties on the market, would you really expect the estate agent to say "No, that's not fair to sira"?

Now I'm planning to reduce the price of mine to 550k, because I need a quick sale. [..] Note - by "quick sale", I mean I need to find a buyer for my house and also get an offer accepted on the property I'm going to buy by 28th February. Looking to complete in July

That schedule gives you 4-5 months from offer to completion, which should be fine. (In my experience, it took about 2 months without a chain.) The tricky bit will be finding a buyer in the next 2 months.

If you're really in a hurry, it's worth looking at auctions. That's what I did when I sold my old flat; I might have got more money if I'd used the traditional method, but I still made a profit (i.e. I'd effectively lived there rent-free), and I was satisfied with that. Basically, find an auction that takes place on a suitable date: it needs to be far enough in the future that you have time to put together all the documentation (legal pack), but soon enough to meet your own deadlines. On auction day, if the final bid exceeds your reserve price then the auction house will exchange contracts immediately afterwards, although the completion date would typically be a few weeks later (within 20 working days).
NB The reserve price can be higher than the starting price, so the "winning" bid might not actually be high enough to buy the property.

There are also places that offer "instant" sales (in a few days), e.g. "we buy any house". However, you're not going to get a great price there, so I'd avoid them. That's really for the situation where you're completely broke (maxed out your overdraft, credit cards, etc) and this is the only way you can actually buy food.

[NotAllThere]

Do you think a price reduction in such a short space of time would look bad to perspective buyers?

No. On the other hand, 1 week (Christmas) and no viewings? I wouldn't think of reducing until some time in January. If you get viewings but no offers, then you might be pricing a little high.

[northernladuk]

Have you made the pictures as attractive as possible? Checked the pictures of the other similar properties. Get your friends/families to check it and see. Really silly things can make the difference between a viewing or someone clicking on. My pet hate is people that can't be arsed to make the beds properly for the pictures. Get someone to tell you what looks cluttered and take it out for the pictures, take more pictures on a bright day if you can find one so it looks brighter etc.

The visitors only have your pictures to go by so they make a massive difference. Less is more in the house. Take all the clutter off the kitchen top, all your trinkets, ornaments and whatever out. Make it look minimal, clearn, spik and span and bright.

Look at the other houses and see what they look like and aim to be better than the ones you think look nice.

[WTFH]

What estate agent are you using?
Who took the photos for the house, and who wrote the blurb? How much time did they spend doing that?

if there is a chronic shortage, as you say, then reducing the price quickly is counter-intuitive. Any local agent would tell you that.
Did the agent phone people already on their books?

if you had 750 online views, that means very little. As the EA will have told you, online keyword searches are not worth much if the words and pictures don’t go together, or match what the customer sees on Google maps & streetview. It’s also worth remembering that this time of year is not ideal for selling houses when the outside space is murky and wet, while inside is not lit by natural light.

[Paddy]

If you are on "a very good day rate" you should be able to buy your new property and still keep your old one.

[Lance]

Why do you have to find a buyer before you apply for a mortgage?
Thats not normally how it is done.

apply now.

[ladymuck]

Why do you have to find a buyer before you apply for a mortgage?
Thats not normally how it is done.

apply now.

^^ this

The quicker you're in a position to move because you've got everything set up, the better. Having a property lined up and the mortgage in place will tell any prospective buyer that you're serious about moving and want to get on with it. Saying you won't apply for a mortgage until a buyer has been found makes you a risky proposition to a buyer because they don't know if you'll be accepted for the mortgage you want and the deal could fall through.

NLUK's advice is also good. Declutter and keep the place tidy. Check the photos have good lighting and show each room at their best. I hired a cleaner to do a top to toe deep clean of my house before the photos were done.