Selling a home has suddenly got much harder. Buyers who are still committed to
moving are looking for bargains. However, there appears to be a marked
reluctance among sellers to acknowledge that prices are lower and that
househunters are now looking for properties in a different way, starting
their search on the internet. This method of selecting homes suitable for
viewing appears to exclude - from the outset - any homes that seem
overpriced. It is against this background that Geoffrey Weston is trying to
sell his 16th-century Grade II-listed home in Suffolk. It has been on the
market for three years, yet Weston remains convinced that his property is
worth every penny of its £295,000 price tag. His experience should prove a
cautionary tale for all sellers in the current climate.
According to Weston, everybody who has seen the property agrees it is
beautiful. They are right. Standing on the High Street in the pretty village
of Debenham, near Stowmarket, it is the sort of home you might peer at on
the way to the tea shop during a weekend break.
Estate agents might call it a three-bedroom terrace, but it is much more than
that. With its intricate timber frame, inglenook fireplaces and an exquisite
monochrome 16th-century wall painting of winged mythical beasts, it has the
air of a much bigger and grander house, as it once was. What are now Nos 31
to 37 on the High Street was originally a single home built about 1540,
presumably for someone rather grand. It was divided up, probably in the 18th
century, and Weston's home, No 37, inherited the parlour, the grandest room
in the house.
Although it had fallen into disrepair, Weston has spared no expense or effort
in restoring it since he bought it in 2001. With its new bathroom, kitchen
and extra bedroom, you might expect that buyers would be queueing up.
However, since the house went on the market in May 2005 there have been few
viewings and only three offers, all of which have fallen through for
different reasons.
There are downsides to this house that might be overlooked when the market is
rising fast and buyers outnumber sellers but can become firm sticking points
when prices grind to a halt. One drawback is that that the property is small
and has no outdoor space: the back of the house overlooks a church and its
graveyard, and - apart from a small flower bed - its frontage is right on
the road with traffic hurtling past.
That said, when houses fail to sell the price is more often to blame than
anything else. At £295,000, No 37 costs much more than an average
three-bedroom house in the area. William Sadler, an estate agent at Bidwells
in Martlesham Heath, near Ipswich, said: “£300,000 can buy quite a
reasonable property in Suffolk, and you don't have to be in the middle of
things to be close to amenities. You can find houses that are in quite rural
locations and have land but are close to the shops.”
Weston, an editorial consultant, is adamant that he is asking a fair price.
“It is like a chest of drawers. You can buy one from Ikea for £50 or get one
at Christie's for £50,000. They both serve the same function but are
completely different things. This house is so special, you really can't
compare it with anything else on the market. Everyone who has been to see it
loves it.” Weston says that several local agents have agreed on the
valuation.
Unfortunately for Weston, there are some who believe that the price could be
keeping potential buyers from even viewing the property. David Clarke, the
head of country houses at Strutt & Parker in Ipswich, whose original
valuation in the low £200,000s was rejected by Weston, said: “These days
everybody starts their search on the internet. You need to have a
competitive price in order to get buyers to make the journey to view it in
the first place. Without viewings you are never going to get a sale.
“In a slow market, individual homes are easier to sell than ones which are in
a row of similar properties. But quirkiness can also limit the market. You
are dealing with a much smaller pool of buyers, so the possibility of
achieving a premium price is reduced.”
The time for achieving top prices is also over. The market in East Anglia
peaked at the end of 2006 and has been slowing gradually ever since.
According to Hometrack, the number of property sales is falling and sellers
are being forced to accept offers at 7 per cent below the asking price to
secure a deal. Halifax forecasts that property prices in East Anglia will
rise by just 1 per cent this year. Martin Ellis, its group economist,
believes that smaller homes will be the worst hit: “Smaller flats and
terraces will suffer, but family homes will fare a little easier.”
If Weston is disappointed with the gloomy outlook, he is not alone. Sellers
all over the country are being forced to readjust their expectations. Sadler
said: “It's what happens when the market changes after a period of
significant growth. Sellers' expectations are always greater than the
valuation you are giving them.”
37 High Street, Debenham, is for sale with TW Gaze of Diss (01379-641341), and
Fine & Country (0845 3897122)
It is crucial to price your property at a realistic level in a difficult
market. Your house is worth only what a buyer is willing to pay for it.
Choose your agent carefully. Pick the one selling plenty of properties similar
to yours, not the agent who offers the highest valuation.
Ensure your home is advertised online because that is how most buyers start
their search.
Do not expect instant results. Homes are taking an average of two months to
sell, according to the data company Hometrack.
Avoid getting in a long chain, and consider renting if you have not found
somewhere to buy. Prepare your home information pack. It should include an
energy performance certificate.
Make your house easier to sell by decluttering and finishing off any odd jobs.
First impressions are even more important in a slow market, so clean the
windows and wash the curtains. Pretty window boxes also help.
Hi you need to promote the house. It's like anything that you want to sell. Get out there and work for your sale.
Try putting the house on all of the website that you can ex:
www.listpropertiesnow.com
www.craigslist.com
John, Miami,
He should have auctioned it 3 years ago - he would have been laughing all the way to the bank. The only way to sell that is to get the limited number of people who want it competing against each other.
John, London, SE, UK
Oh, and by the way, an ironic three cheers for the periodic levy on trying to sell your house, Hip, Hip.......
John, London, SE, UK
Property Fact 1
A house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
Property Fact 2
If your house was put onto the market three years ago (in a much much better market) and hasnt sold. The i can say without a shadow of doubt, ITS TOO MUCH MONEY!
If someone comes round and says there is no garden it means it is too much money, because they have seen ones at the same money with gardens.
if someone comes round and says the bedrooms are too small, then guess what, its too much money as they have seen something with bigger rooms for the same money.
Rebecca , Northants , UK
that was three words Richard.
Andy, Hereford, UK
One word: deluded
Richard, Richmond,
New Labour's interfering has caused the problem. HIPS is a joke. Prices over inflated in London and needed to cool but to destroy the national housing market the mind boggles
steve, chester, cheshire
The truth of the matter is, now that the buy-to-let crowd are no longer driving up market prices, sellers are going to have to face the fact that an asking price of 10x the average regional salary just isn't realistic for most buyers.
There is a huge difference between payments on an interest-only mortgage with tax relief and an element of subsidy from capital gains, and a repayment mortgage on which full tax is paid. It's quite likely that the UK housing market will follow the US one, what with the low transaction rates and the squeeze that most amateur landlords are now feeling.
Mike, London, UK
I did wonder why a property sale was making news, there it is, on the market since May 2005. Could that be a record? I do agree with Weston it is special, but probably not to most people. Never mind seeing a house like that on the way to a tea shop, it could make a very nice tea shop. Just look at that window. Apart from that I can think of a few other reasons here not even to look at the property,'16th-century Grade II-listed'....'property is small and has no outdoor space'....'exquisite monochrome 16th-century wall painting of winged mythical beasts'....'overlooks a church and its graveyard'. It would seem, this articles has done Weston little favour.
Dave, London, UK
Like many other people in this sadly deluded country - this man is going to have to wake up to the fact that his home is only worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it - not what he thinks it's worth - that's not pricing, that's wishful thinking.
If he thinks it is that valuable he should not sell - if he needs to move he should rent it out - if he can't rent it out at a price that covers his costs then he will have got another clear indication of the real "value" of the property - the long term imputed rental value.
There is no real under-supply of houses in the sense that most people have somewhere adequate to live (buy or rent) - as evidenced by the stark fact that rents have not kept pace with house prices. A number of sound economic studies have calculated that on this basis house prices are 20-30 overvalued. At the same time economic demand (what people can afford to pay not the spoilt "I want" type of demand) has all but dried up.
Sellers get real!
Father Ignatius Brown, London, UK
When will people learn that a property is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it? Markets have an excellent way of punishing thinking which tries to ignore this. Reject, say, a 90% offer today and before long an 80% offer is all you will get. Soon, you find that a property originally on the market for £300k will be lucky to achieve 200k. Don't believe me? Have a look at http://www.propertysnake.co.uk/
Graham, Oxford, UK
I will offer 150K for it. a reasonable price. Sellers need to remember, the price of their homes is not set by what they want, but what they can afford. Credit crunch permitting, house prices should be returning to much more sensible levels over the next few years. And if you are desperate to sell, make sure you dont chase the market down with price drops. Make a significant price drop now if you are serious about selling.
Sam Smith, Southport,