Selling houses?

[Paul_B]

Just wondering if anyone has sold their house recently? We've had a few valuations to that end and had two totally different market values given. One agent had 5% more than the other one for selling price. They're the better agent too according to recommendations I've had.

How did you go about putting it onto the market? I assume you got a few agents in and picked the one that you thought was best. Did you get differing opinions on price? Did you go high, low or took an average? Did you go with the agent's valuation or override them?

This is my first time selling a house. I've been in my current house for 20 years and everything seems to have changed. Never sold only bought without a chain. It's daunting because we want to sell quickly, new primary school in September ideally moved before then. I'm also worrying about houses to buy. There's only one we would even consider right now in the whole area we're looking. If that goes and nothing new comes up a sold house is a problem. If we pull out is off the market then and things start again with new agents. If we move out, where to? Compromise house or rent? Rent loses money. It's a daunting process all round!!!

 

[TeeDee]

Look for sold prices in you area - you are looking for comparable properties.

If you want to ( as I've experience in this area ) PM me your property address , post code and details ( detached/end of terrace/terrace etc )

 

[slowworm]

I've sold a couple of houses over the last 10 years. I'm not sure much has changed in that time really.

I also had varying valuations. I only went with one agent at a time to get a lower selling rate but both times ended up switching agent and lowering the price a bit. Ensure if you sign a contract they have no rights to new viewers after the contract expires.

As for valuations, you can try something like Zoopla and put in the correct details for your house. If you live on a street with similar houses it'll give you a good idea of price. 5% doesn't sound like much of a variation to me at all.

Also check the agency yourself. I had one turn up and when I looked at their web site it was a mess and they were in the process of updating it. I didn't go with them as I'd have waited a few months for them to sort themselves out.

I would expect all agencies to use the online portals, Prime Location etc, but you can check which ones they use. Also worth finding out what the sort of buyer of your house is likely to be as some people still buy via news paper adverts and by visiting their high street branch. Some agencies are much better at those sort of things than others.

It is also worth checking their photography. For one sale we ended up taking the pictures as we did a better job. Some photos are appalling but we did notice one agency (we didn't use it) that seemed to be able to make even the most horrible house look great.

I gather now some agencies do virtual viewings, that might be something to consider if C19 comes back.

 

[MikeeMiracle]

I had problems when I bought my house 3 years ago, mainly being an hour away from London by train, many people from London were looking to buy in the area. The end result was that agents were asking a premium as they knew the houses were much cheaper than London and those coming from London had more money to spend. I would agree a price and then the mortgage company would not loan the money as they insisted the house was worth 20-30k less than what I offered. This is fine for cash buyers but not for those wanting a mortgage.

That discrepancy is probably due to greedy agents advising of unrealistic prices.

I would check the Land Registry for house prices in your area, your road even, that's the only true guide as it lists the actual price paid for properties, not the over inflated prices some agents charge.

 

[Paul_B]

Just rechecked and there's only been one similar house sold in our street in the last 10 years. Putting that price into nationwide calculator I got a 2020 Q2 price that was nearer the higher price. It was even above the top price the first agent suggested. The one I thought was too high looks right. Perhaps we should go in with his first surpassingly high price.

The first agent suggested one price £50 below what we thought was our top range price. The second increased that by £15k. When we sounded surprised he asked what we thought it would be. Then he lowered his suggestion to just £5k above the first agent's price. Then after discussing things he increased it by a further £2.5 k. I suspect he wanted the higher price really but didn't want us to doubt his accuracy. I've since learnt that second agency is supposed to be more accurate. Someone locally sold a house through them despite their selling recommendation being a lot lower than the other agents. Turned out the house sold for nearer his estimate.

I think I will use the agent with the higher estimation purely on the recommendation I got. Apparently they're more proactive.

All agents use Rightmove and onthemarket websites. Apparently round here they're the most active and searched websites and both agents we've seen only use them. I think I read that the third and final agent in our little town used those two as well. The first agency uses a professional photographer but this one uses the lady who comes in to write the house details. She might be a professional photographer in terms of quality as well but they don't mention that. From the recommendation we got they said the be second agent is more proactive. They're better at getting feedback and letting the vender know what viewers are saying it if anything is putting people off. I think that would possibly allow us to correct any snags stopping a sale.

One last point about working out house prices it's a street with houses on one side with odd and even numbers on the same side 14 houses plus 1a to 4a as well = 18 houses. The ones with the letter a that were built after the original 1900 houses are too different. There's a couple with extra room or extension. Out of all other 13 houses built like ours there's been 2 sold in the last 10 years. One was a bit bigger but needed a lot of modernisation. A builder got it for a low price and has taken a year and a half without having finished it off yet!!! The other was sold about the same time and is probably the only price we could use to compare. That was the one that was close to the second and higher price agent.

My main point here is there's very few houses like ours and none have the intangibles like our view of the canal and the turning / mooring area or being at the end of the road furthest from the main road. Plus other more tangible like high energy efficiency windows and heating system. Both agents made the point that the houses at this end of the road has the benefits that would sell the houses quicker and for a bit more than at the other end of the road. When you've got a small sample size and people who stay here a long time you have to rely on trusting one agent over another.

 

[TeeDee]

My main point here is there's very few houses like ours and none have the intangibles like our view of the canal and the turning / mooring area or being at the end of the road furthest from the main road. Plus other more tangible like high energy efficiency windows and heating system. Both agents made the point that the houses at this end of the road has the benefits that would sell the houses quicker and for a bit more than at the other end of the road. When you've got a small sample size and people who stay here a long time you have to rely on trusting one agent over another.

In truth all these things you consider as unique Pro's or Con's won't make a huge difference to the average price in the road.

That being said, if you feel it will then you can quite easily test the market by putting the property on the market for a fair percentage over ( thus justifying the additionals ) and then gauge the level of interest - tweak it down until you find the level of interest matches your level of expectation.

This of course all goes out the window when you yourself are a Motivated seller and have a limited Time window on another property.
I used to trade like this and offer creative solutions.

If you feel the property is worth more because it has these additional features that should justify a higher price ( Gold plated Toilet seat ) then go toppy with a valuation and nibble it down with time.

 

[Stew]

It's easier to lower a price later than raise it.

You only need one person who wants to pay the price to justify that price.

 

[Fadcode]

Agents put a higher price so that they can reduce it, when a potential new buyer stalls, you yourself should have a price in your mind that you want.
If you require an amount that is far beyond what your house is worth, then it wont sell,if you put a price on your house that is reasonable then the chances are it will sell quickly, now is a good time to sell and buy because of the reduced stamp duty,
Also remember that Agents get a commission on the sale price, so it is in their interest to tell you a higher price, just to get your business, also look closely at the Agreement between you and the Agent, it may be a timed agreement, whereas if you take the property off the market, then put it back on with another Agency, you may find you have to pay both Agents a fee.
Good luck with your sale.

 

[Mike313]

Historical information about house sales is interesting, but you are thinking of selling your house TODAY in the immediate wake of the Covid-19 pandemic (there may be a Winter surge to come which will make matters worse) and with dire forecasts for the economy and unemployment (which affects people's ability to get a mortgage etc). Not wanting to sound like a 'wet blanket' but that is the reality of the situation. My thoughts would be - if I can get a buyer pretty close to what my house was worth pre-Covid then go for it! If a lot less then only YOU can weigh up your priorities . . . . .