House Selling - Advice Please

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DanBoro4499

Well-known member
Never sold a house before so i'm just after a bit of advice in regards to the valuation please.

I've had 2 eastage agents value it, and they've both give me pretty much the same ballpark of between 200,000 and 220,000.

With that in mind, what should I actually be putting it up for? Do I go with 220 - or should I be going even higher? Houses very rarely go up for sale in my street, and when they do - they get snapped up straight away. A woman a couple of doors away received 3 offers in the first day, and sold it on day 2.

So i'm thinking if the demand is like that - i should be listing it higher than the valuation?
 
Demand may be cooling a bit now with rising rates and cost of living. Been looking for a friend last 6 months and where's houses were being snapped up immediately in the area he was looking they're now being listed longer and ones he has discounted we are seeing getting reduced

Sometimes estate agents will overvalue to win business knowing they can talk people into a reduction later, their reduction in fee is negligible

So so your own research and look at sold prices on your street and around you, how long they took to sell etc. If demand is still that strong list it as offers over, people will only bid what they think a house is worth though so it's mostly down to wording and by listing higher you may be outside of someone's search range - you can always take higher bids if there is strong demand

Also be aware that the minimum listing period and the % fee estate agents charge is negotiable. Some don't take the p*as but some will put 6 months and 3% so look at what they're offering and negotiate.

I'd also look on rightmove and see which estate agents have a lot of sales in your area
 
ThatFragranceGuy said:
Demand may be cooling a bit now with rising rates and cost of living. Been looking for a friend last 6 months and where's houses were being snapped up immediately in the area he was looking they're now being listed longer and ones he has discounted we are seeing getting reduced

Sometimes estate agents will overvalue to win business knowing they can talk people into a reduction later, their reduction in fee is negligible

So so your own research and look at sold prices on your street and around you, how long they took to sell etc. If demand is still that strong list it as offers over, people will only bid what they think a house is worth though so it's mostly down to wording and by listing higher you may be outside of someone's search range - you can always take higher bids if there is strong demand

Also be aware that the minimum listing period and the % fee estate agents charge is negotiable. Some don't take the p*as but some will put 6 months and 3% so look at what they're offering and negotiate.

I'd also look on rightmove and see which estate agents have a lot of sales in your area
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Some good advice.

The market is slowing a little, but only in some areas. Whilst the asking price is important its not unusual for bids I'm excess of that too, if there is more than one interested buyer.

You say a house nearby sold recently - that's the most accurate guide to where you should be looking for yours.
 
Go abit higher and test the water for a few weeks. I got mine valued but just to weigh up worthy costs for an extension. A few months later 2 houses went up for sale higher than my valuation and sold for over the asking price. That was last year.
Market is cooling slightly and it had to.

On a side note I think now is a terrible time to buy your first house, similar to 2006 when I started out.

And how are all the 250k plus houses selling like hot cakes? There can’t be that many people earning wages to cover that much in Middlesbrough
 
DanBoro4499 said:
Never sold a house before so i'm just after a bit of advice in regards to the valuation please.

I've had 2 eastage agents value it, and they've both give me pretty much the same ballpark of between 200,000 and 220,000.

With that in mind, what should I actually be putting it up for? Do I go with 220 - or should I be going even higher? Houses very rarely go up for sale in my street, and when they do - they get snapped up straight away. A woman a couple of doors away received 3 offers in the first day, and sold it on day 2.

So i'm thinking if the demand is like that - i should be listing it higher than the valuation?
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Are you in a rush to sell? If so maybe pop it on at 210. No rush? Pop it on at 220 and see how how it goes. You'll get an indication in the first month or so as the agents will push the property hard.

It's not a great time to sell. Bills going up again in October and interest rates jumping at 0.5% a go. If you want a quick sale you might have to accept below 200.

Good luck!!
 
If you're thinking of buying a house everyone looks on Rightmove to see what houses are for sale.
If your house is on Rightmove everyone willing to buy it will see it and all the details.
To get on Rightmove you need an estate agent as they only accept listings from them.

Consider using Strike online estate agent or similar as they charge absolutely nothing to list etc
You only pay for any additional services you might want to use, but absolutely no obligation to buy anything and can sell for free.
Take your own photos ( easy with smartphone ) and show the house yourself etc and cherry pick what other services you mighty want.

I really don't see what a traditional local office based agent with a window full of houses can offer above this and how they justify such large fees etc.
 
Ours went on with a range (albeit at the lower end of the valuation). Sold in two weeks for around 8% above the top end of the range.

Definitely feels like the market is slowing (here in South Yorkshire at least) - decent houses were going for around 35% above asking earlier in the summer. It's probably back down to around 10% now with less interest/bidders as a rule.
 
Northerner said:
If you're thinking of buying a house everyone looks on Rightmove to see what houses are for sale.
If your house is on Rightmove everyone willing to buy it will see it and all the details.
To get on Rightmove you need an estate agent as they only accept listings from them.

Consider using Strike online estate agent or similar as they charge absolutely nothing to list etc
You only pay for any additional services you might want to use, but absolutely no obligation to buy anything and can sell for free.
Take your own photos ( easy with smartphone ) and show the house yourself etc and cherry pick what other services you mighty want.

I really don't see what a traditional local office based agent with a window full of houses can offer above this and how they justify such large fees etc.
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Strike (or whatever they were called before) were rubbish when we sold our house. They don't earn anything so have no incentive to do anything. They just want it sold asap. They tried to insist on a valuation that was way below what we were expecting and argued with me when I told them it was rubbish. We needed a quick sale but knew what our house was worth so went with someone else and sold for £1k less than what we wanted (£19k higher than Strike's valuation).

In a rising market at an address that hasn't had many sales one of the sticking points is bank's valuation. If local area is selling for £250k but recent sales have been sub £200k then banks will use baseline from previous sales and inflate it by the market increase which might be way below realistic values for the property because of the low baseline. If buyers can't get a mortgage worth £250k then you can't sell it for that much unless they make up the difference with the deposit.

If you aren't in a rush I think it is better to think of the number you want to accept and then add £10k. Might not sell immediately but if someone really likes it they'll offer the full amount and it's a bonus. If you have to reduce it you have room to reduce it.
 
Put ours up for the estate agent valuation of £240,000 last year which I felt was a bit low but the wife knew best. The first 3 viewers all put offers in, one of £250,000 which we accepted. I still think we undercut ourselves. You can always reduce it but you can't put the price up and expect the same interest.
 
The_Lizards_Jumpers said:
People use the increase and subsequent equity from their previous house to fund the purchase of their next one, it's pretty much how the housing market works.
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I do understand how the market works mate. Do we have an ageing population then in Middlesbrough. They can’t build enough £250000 plus houses but build a very small percentage of new starter homes
 
Shouldn’t need to pay more than 1% fee (+ VAT) to agent. If they want more, find another and play them off against each other
 
Always go with the higher end mate. If it doesn't get snapped up, there is always the option to reduce (although it's never nice seeing 'reduced on x date' on Rightmove)

If you're lucky, you'll get a few viewings and a few bids. The estate agent can then take this to best and final offers. I've done this recently and got quite a bit above what it was even on the market for. The market might be cooling, but if you've got a house people will want, they'll fall over themselves for it. My mate bought a 3 bed, detached new build a year or so ago. Put it up for sale a few months back for 25k more than it was bought for, and it sold pretty much instantly.
 
We put ours up for 10k more than the valuation and got asking price on first viewing, this was November 2020. The markets even more buoyant now.
 
The last 3 houses that I’ve known go forsale went for higher than the asking price . Maybe consider the price of your future purchase into .
It’s a nightmare the length of time houses are taking to complete now there’s absolutely no reason for it imo
 
Agree go for the higher option

Housing market has slowed a little but still seems to be the back end of a good market. Not directly comparable but I've just marketed a property in the Newcastle area after my long term tenants moved out at what I thought was a high price, but it sold within a week for above the asking price after a bit of a bidding war.

The capped energy prices for the next couple of years may tempt people who were putting off back into the market.
 
I think 2 agents isn't enough to get a proper range, I think 4-5 is optimal.

With regards the comment about Rightmove, look at their price boundaries & make sure your asking price is right on one eg 220k, not 219k or 225k.
That way if you go at 220, it comes up in searches of 210-220 & 220-230. But if you went at 219, it only comes up in the 1st search.
 
Facefuzz said:
I do understand how the market works mate. Do we have an ageing population then in Middlesbrough. They can’t build enough £250000 plus houses but build a very small percentage of new starter homes
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When I bought my first home it was a starter home - a 2 bed terrace in Stockton town centre and when I sold it I lost about £20k on it. I don't think people want those anymore and they're the domain of landlords or people without absolutely any other choice. It was good for me for 12 years as it was a decent size and had front and back garden which was rare for the area, but to lose £20k was a sting.

My partner is younger than me and her workmates buying their first houses all want new builds or at least more modern houses.

Modern houses in that price bracket retain their value better than ageing terrace starter homes and you're going to get less crime and better facilities and schools which is why places like Ingleby do so well

Lots of people on the area can afford these prices and they sell well
 
Don't know if it's comparable as I live in North Northumberland.
Put ours on the market for £280K, accepted £315K within 3 days.
We want for offers over....we completed earlier this month
 
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