Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I must have had a dozen Estate Agents putting a card through my door telling me how desirable my house is and how they have loads of clients waiting for a house in my street.

Now I have signed up with one of them I find things are very different. Only 4 viewings in two weeks.

Did I choose the wrong Estate Agent?

Does anyone else have experience of this?

For the last 5 years I've been bombarded with estate agent mail outs trying to get us to sell with various agents as our postcode is highly desirable. We rent from a private landlord, so I obviously can't just sell up! She has just sold though and had valuations from 7 agents before picking 2 that she felt were realistic. It went up for sale mid August, was pelted with viewings (7 a week or so) and then sold after 4 weeks on the market. I can't understand it myself. The prices are crazy, a lot of people are first time buyers and estate agents are still the work of the devil. How do people earn so much money to be able to buy as first timers in such an expensive market. Its beyond me, but its happened.

GinaG3 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> How do people earn so much money to be able to buy

> as first timers in such an expensive market. Its

> beyond me, but its happened.


A couple both of whose London-resident grandparents died recently = ?300k deposit.


Both City professionals = ?150-200k joint salary no problem.


Say they borrow 3.5x joint.


Can buy ?900k house.


Plenty of people like this want to buy in East Dulwich.

Real estate agent letter drops can be symptomatic of a slow market, rather than a buoyant one.


As others have noted, we are also at a seasonal slow period (spring/summer peak is over, school year has started) and buyers / sellers are bedding down for the Christmas period...


Suspect lack of viewings is more down to timing than to choice of agent, although if you want advice on agents I am sure you will find a specific thread on that elswhere on this forum...


Good luck!

The market appears to be slowing with many houses dropping asking prices and sitting on the market for weeks. This is happening all over London and prices achieved earlier this year may no longer be obtainable except for exceptional properties.

lesalden..the peak times for selling houses are Spring and Autumn. This should be one of the busiest times to sell.


People want to be in for Christmas so the next 6-8 weeks are crucial. Then the market slows down significantly.


Therefore it is important that you have a conversation with your agents asap and, if they are any good, they will advise you.

It could be anything incl. price, photos, unappealing exterior [a lot of buyers drive past properties before deciding to view], too much competition at similar prices, etc. Ask them if there is any one agent dealing specifically with your property. How many buyers have they contacted? Do they just mail out or have they a 'hot list' of ready-to-go buyers? What has the feedback been from the 4 viewings? Have they informed you of this? What do they suggest you do in order to have sold by Christmas? It boils down to your own personal circumstances as to what you do but you need to be very proactive with your agents. If they have not reassured you, change agents. There are plenty of individual agents who EDFers have found help them sell their houses despite the slagging off they regularly receive on the forum.


Also, you might want to consider whether or not you want to leave your house on the market through the lean months, with the risk of it looking stale, or re-market it in the Feb/March. Either way, you need to address it now if you want a chance of selling before the market goes quiet. I sincerely hope you get a buyer asap.

I'm buying at the moment and i think there are a lot of hopeful vendors. The market has definitely slowed down from the peak of the madness earlier this year.


You need to be honest with yourself and look at your property objectively. Is there anything that would put buyers off - oddly shaped rooms, poor DIY, shabby appearance, issues with neighbours? If you were feeling brave you could post the Rightmove link and we could give honest opinions.

Buyers are now way more wary of buying at the top of a market which is what it appears to be. Nor are they so daft as to believe the agents flam. Many flats and houses are just obviously overpriced and it is realistic to be fearful of buying and being lumbered with such places over the next period of price stagnation and falls

rahrahrah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> To answer the question posed in the subject line.

> Yes, i think it's easy to sell a house, if you

> price it competitively.


Exactly. If you price above market value you won't sell. Lots of people are currently trying to sell above market value because the news that prices have fallen hasn't filtered through yet. Properties that are priced correctly will sell and will set the new benchmark. The falls are steepest in upmarket parts of London but East Dulwich has fallen too.

rahrahrah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> To answer the question posed in the subject line.

> Yes, i think it's easy to sell a house, if you price it competitively.


Well, that's true in a way, but that depends on how desperate you are to sell. The number of buyers around at the moment is way down on normal for this time of year. If you want to chase those and sell for a knock-down price it can be done. Personally, I'd wait until the market recovers.


Good time to buy, though.

I found 14 properties for sale on upland road, although it wasn't easy as you can't seem to search by road name on their site, so I did a map search.


bonaome Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> On rightmove.co.uk there's only one house for sale

> on Upland Road and from your address it's not

> yours. 2 bed terrace west of Barry rd? If that

> isn't you, ask your agent why your property isn't

> on rightmove.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Meson Don Felipe on The Cut was my go to place for many years. Though it's now many years since I was there. 10-15 minute walk from the Tate. If you go can you tell me what it's like nowadays?
    • Doubt you would have got much change out of £150.00 for battery and certainly having forked out for it, best to use your car. I recently sold  my car via webuyanycar.com - very pleasant experience & was roughly what I was expecting. Pop your bangers reg jnto their website to get an idea of price - they do send e mails once a fortnight/month just as an aid for you. Easy enough to delete - don’t even have to read valuation. They literally buy any car - if you can’t get it to them, they will charge you to get it there or recommend a co that will do it for you. Must say, mine was a 2014 reg and whilst a bit suspicious, paid extra to get money into my account as needed it for next car but was assured funds had I not gone down route I took would be in my account within 5 days. I now live in the country - every time I have been back to Dulwich and surrounding area, normally get a fine for driving at wrong time or parking at  wrong time so if I drive now, park in West or East Dulwich and do everything else by public transport and walking.  Were I still to be living in ED then before I left was pondering this very issue but since I have been back regularly for health reason I no longer drive but take the train and then buses, walk or Uber. Much cheaper than running a car and had I stayed, that would have been the course I would have taken. I don’t go out everyday, have an allotment or job to go to or family so in my case, would be cheaper not to have a car.  Was truely shocked   at the cost of second hand cars…..but where I now live only has a smattering of buses so no choice but to have wheels to get from A to B etc.          
    • If you don't use the car often then suggest disconnect the battery between use by undoing the earth (negative / minus sign) cable from the battery and the battery will then last longer between use. Remember, central locking, alarm, clock, etc won't work with battery disconnected and wit ours I have to lock the doors with central locking before disconnecting battery as only have key on one door (leave bonnet open before locking doors). Hope this helps  
    • last week's Janda Diner visit reviewed. https://open.substack.com/pub/eatsdulwich/p/restaurant-review-janda-diner?r=8oe6m&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...