Is it easy to sell a house in East Dulwich?

[lesalden]

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?

[Cyclemonkey]

Perhaps the price is wrong - houses will sell more or less anywhere if the price is right.

[Jeremy]

What CM said. There is quite a lot of competition at the moment... loads of houses on the market, prices mainly seem very high to me.

[New Girl]

I'll buy it for 300,000 :)

I'm a first time buyer. Can I tug at the heart strings?

[AbDabs]

Check the prices actually paid on Zoopla. If you're asking more than the highest price ever paid (?1,166,500) in your street then you may have to have patience. If you're asking much less for the same size/condition then talk to another agent.

[GinaG3]

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.

[miga]

.

[Earl Aelfheah]

There are lot of properties coming on the market and not a lot selling at the moment. I would say that you probably need to look at whether it's priced competitively.

[Too Good To Be True]

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.

[MissKing]

Slow time of year for house buying too... few people wish to be moving at Christmas / winter

[strae]

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!

[LondonMix]

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.

[Townleygreen]

actually, traditionally the autumn and spring are the busiest times for the housing market. The slowest times being Christmas and Summer.

[worldwiser]

Rubbish. About the only time of year when no one buys is January. We sold our flat in December and we were beating them off with a stuck.

[Jacqui5254]

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.

[Cyclemonkey]

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.

[skipper]

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

[Earl Aelfheah]

To answer the question posed in the subject line. Yes, i think it's easy to sell a house, if you price it competitively.

[Blackcurrant]

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.

[Loz]

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.

[Mazza6]

The market has been dead since May folks.

[Blackcurrant]

Dead since July, I would say. The crazy gains made over new year and spring are falling off. Back then prices looked bomb proof, but the London market is fickle and this isn't the first time it's turned on a dime.

[bonaome]

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.

[SebsC]

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.

[????]

Two on my road, both sold in two weeks