Stay on the market or take a break

I think we'll leave it on the market. The bungalow we were hoping for has found somewhere she wants to buy so well probably loose it but if we do sell straightener Christmas that might save the situation

Though I still think that if a house is a pretty good one of itself and pretty good location and not overpriced it will go pretty quickly.

I've seen it years back in my homecity - of thinking "That very similar house is much more modernised than mine - it'll be gone in two seconds flat even though it's dearer". It went in 9 days and mine took 3 months.

I've seen it here right from the start in the town I'm in - a noticeable proportion of houses here are old-fashioned and/or illogical and/or in poor condition and I look at them for sale and think "You'll probably still be for sale this time next year" and, on the other hand, it's easy to spot the more normal ones (relatively modernised, nothing that much illogical in the way they are, etc) and they go within weeks - even in this slow-selling area.

Hence I felt quite safe to wait and wait for the house I bought here - having thought "Tatty little probate house.....old-fashioned....this is illogical....that is illogical" - but now I've ripped it apart = same house has got people hinting at interest should I ever change my mind and decide to sell and I'm even pretty certain who'd buy it in the event...

Cagsy

Some people I know put their house on the market as evidently anyone you want to buy from isn’t interested if you haven’t had an offer on yours. It wasn’t on for a week and they accepted an offer, now they REALLY have to find somewhere!

This is the problem, even in a bad market, some people will sell very quickly. Just the right buyer at the right time.

I'm waiting to exchange on mine, hopefully this week. Personally I wouldn't take it off the market if I were you. I think most people know what's going on in the housing market, if they have any common sense. I'm in a situation where I can't find anything suitable because people are waiting until spring to put it on so there's not much out there.

Incidentally I had a frustrating conversation with a Vendor's Estate Agent yesterday who was trying to get me to increase my offer by £10k as the Sellers won't budge on the price at all despite me being chain free and a cash buyer. They've had no offers at all on theirs despite being on for about 6 months. I had to knock £45k off mine. Unfortunately I think some people are unrealistic about what they can get for their houses at the moment and unless you are prepared to budge on price you're not going to move any time soon

Aren't we missing the point a bit here?

The OP has had viewings. The house has sold twice, there's nothing wrong with its condition or price. It's just unlucky the chain has fallen apart on both occasions.

So HDando, what have you decided to do?

Friends have taken their large house off the market after no viewings since August. Yesterday, they had a call from the agent to say someone new wants to view!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them.
Good luck.

This time of year is a buyer's market, but it is swings and roundabouts; we bought and sold in January, but it is not that common, but buyers will compare homes regardless of time listed. Just not the ones with snow in the pictures in May.

Why did it fall through? Have an honest conversation with your agent. Have a look at the photos and descriptions to see if they could be more positive. If they will not change them then perhaps you do need to withdraw and go again.

(I find few in my area describe the London commuting opportunity, even though I have neighbours who do so, for example).

Some people I know put their house on the market as evidently anyone you want to buy from isn’t interested if you haven’t had an offer on yours. It wasn’t on for a week and they accepted an offer, now they REALLY have to find somewhere!

I would take it off and consider relisting about April or May, reputed to be a much busier time for house hunting eg before holiday season, getting settled in for new school year.

Follow Franbern's advice.

Personally - I'd keep the house on the market - at least for the time being.

It is true that some will be "getting their skates on" come the New Year and out there viewing then and there might be one that will turn out to be your buyer.

I'd also agree that many people keep a regular eye on Rightmove even after they've bought a house - it's a sort of checking whether one's own house has kept its value or, if lucky, gone up in value I guess. Or a "Agh! All the defects it's got that can't be solved" thing - and then you think "Well I can't actually see any houses without even more defects than mine has got anyway".

Realistically - what defects has your house got? The house itself, rather "individual" style decor, location, bad neighbours or good neighbours that have been upset? My own house often gets described as "lovely" these days (now I've had it ripped to shreds and modernised) - but I would list as defects, for instance, missing - 3rd bedroom, garage, utility room, not in "my style" (mine being what I'm used to - brick walls/slate roofs) and a bit of my front garden has been legally stolen off me by adjacent neighbours (but they've got the bill due to go to them for VERY expensive work that part of my garden needs and they've clicked they can't have it both ways and the bill will be going in their houses' direction).

So what defects has your house got - and we can maybe figure out how saleable it sounds.

it took us 4 years to sell one of our houses. We had come off the market but the estate agent still kept us on his books. That agent was tenacious and showed somebody round. We sold and moved into rental accommodation. Xmas is generally a quiet time so ask the agent to stop any advertisements till the spring. If you have a property in mind though, then things may be very different

Edit, comma after selling.

If you have it in your mind to move stay on the market, I am in the process of selling 2 houses fell througʻ, but even as I thought of stopping I realised I wouldn't be happy and. eventually would put it back on the market

I think that many people are in the same boat HDando and that normal rules don't apply at the moment.
Unless you're having too many irritating viewings I wouldn't bother to take it off the market, I don't think that you'd get many viewings over the holiday but it would be a shame to miss the one you need.
At least you know that your house is appealing as you've had two potential sales that have fallen through due to no fault of your own.

We bought our present house after it was re-listed on Rightmove by a different estate agent and £100K reduced. Never considered it when previously listed although we spent 2 years looking.

Wyllow3

Maybe base the decision on how badly you need a break from it all a while, or it's a "tactical" decision? Is there something to do to it in the meantime that would make it more attractive?

It is nice to think it is as simple as that - and in some ways it is. offer a house for £1 and it will be gone in 10 minutes, but this is not a case of one house not selling, when others are.

This is a case of there being a general slow down in the housing market because of the uncertain economic situation and people being unwilling to commit themselves to buying their first house or moving up the housing ladder because of their fear for their jobs and general economic stability.

Most potential buyers will also have a house to sell in order to move up the housing ladder and if everyone were to drop their price by£100,000 to sell, that would include the person wanting to buy this house at £100,000 less, so the OP would be in an even worse position.

If she really is desperate for a sale, she could sell it by auction or to one of those companies that undervalue houses by about 20% and then offer to buy the house at a 75% of its value.

The first essay I was asked to write in when Istarted studying for a degree in ecconomics was as follows: If during a period of high unemployemnt, one person by constantly trying can get a job, why cannot every unemplyed person?

This applies to selling houses. If one person by continually cutting the price of their house can sell it when times are difficult, why cannot every house seller? The answer to that, is that if everyone started cutting prices it would frighten all potential buyers out of the market. No one wants to buy something that loses value daily and hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people would find themselves in negative equityand unable to move house even if they want to.

Maybe base the decision on how badly you need a break from it all a while, or it's a "tactical" decision? Is there something to do to it in the meantime that would make it more attractive?

It’s always the price that stops a house selling. Drop it enough and it will sell. For example suppose your house was on the market for £400,000. Ten people view it but nobody wants it because of the steps up to it. So you drop the price to £300,000. Now ten people want it and nobody cares about the steps. It’s always the price.

Yes, take it off the market and put it back in April.
My neighbour’s daughter has just done that. She had one or two viewings but no offers. Hence her decision

Georgesgran

It was always seen that Easter was the best time to put a house on the market. Sadly, there are quite a few who decide enough is enough in a relationship following a traumatic Christmas and look to buy elsewhere as soon as possible in the New Year.

Yes, I thought that, but our estate agent said not. She seemed to think that people move when it suits them.

I wonder whether now our houses are centrally heated, and we drive around in cars, takes away constraints that governed people in the past - not wanting to move into a new home in winter and not be viewing houses when it is dark and one is dependent on public transport.

It was always seen that Easter was the best time to put a house on the market. Sadly, there are quite a few who decide enough is enough in a relationship following a traumatic Christmas and look to buy elsewhere as soon as possible in the New Year.

We never mentally dismissed a property because it had been on the market a long tme. Like most buyers we were well aware of the state of the housing market and why.

Our estate agent told us that more people go on Right move on Boxing day, followed by New Years day than on any other day. Yes, for most it will be day dreaming but there will be those people who have said 'Right, come next year we will move - and on 1st January they click on Rightmove and get serious.

I would stay on.

Four properties in our road have just sold in the past month or so, three having been on the market for over a year. Prices were from £650k to £1 million, so there are people out there buying now.

It would be silly to miss a buyer, but you could ask your agent to take yours off advertising sites and keep it low profile.

People looking for a property aren't silly enough not to find out if it hasn't been up for sale by the current owners previously in recent times.

Fingers crossed for you, it'll happen.

I would agree with those who say to take it off market and put it back on (maybe with a different agent), around March/April next year.

When people look into Rightmove (and similar), they start to mentally dismiss those properties that seem to have been there for ages.

Good Luck for a good sale next year.