Should I change my estate agent?

[Northside 10]

So my house has been on the market for about 4 weeks. In this time there have been no viewings or enquiries about it:(

 

It is a nice house in a very popular area, and I am surprised and somewhat concerned that there has been so little activity. Although my performance report from Rightmove shows it is an extremely popular entry! Just seems that once people have clicked through and had a look, it does not go any further

 

Now I am very keen to sell quickly, and not least because I have a house in mind that I will probably end up losing now. I would also like to sell for close to the asking price, which I wouldn't have thought would be too hard considering what the house is like

 

It is with an online agent as I object on principle paying nearly 2k to the 'market leader', however now I am not so sure as they seem to be selling houses like hot cakes. Or is this because they simply have more in the local area?? The package they offer is the same as the other agents (ok, they put an ad in the paper..but hardly anyone looks in the paper these days!), so is it something else they do..? ring people up when they sign up for alerts..? do they have a lot of people going through the door of their offices..? I know I don't get any calls myself despite looking for a house, and it's very rare I am around when the offices are open to actually pop in rather than look on the web (and that'll be Rightmove).

 

It's a catch 22, either I change the agent and if I could guarantee a sale for the price I am asking then the fee will sort of pay for itself as the other option could mean if I stick with the online one, I will have to reduce the price and even then, of course, there are no guarantees.

 

Tricky situation! Anyone else in the same boat..?

[neeeeeeeeeek 10]

If it's getting loads of hits, then I would guess it is perceived as being too expensive.

 

Post the link

[blueleopard 10]

Based on what you have said, considering there have been no enquiries it can only be the pictures, description, or price affecting things. All estate agents tend to advertise in the same places so it probably isn't a matter of lack of marketing.

 

Your agent would have to be pretty dire to write a bad description and take bad pics so it must be the price. HOWEVER: the Market is slow out there. Yes, the amount of genuine buyers are rising but slowly and no where near the levels there were a few years ago.

 

If you do decide to instruct a new agent then make sure you choose one that have a track record of SELLING (not just putting up for sale) properties similar to yours, as that will be a good indicator they can do the same for you too.

 

Good luck!

 

James.

[ismangil 10]

I am not an estate agent, however I did recently bought a house in Sheffield, and yes, I exclusively used Rightmove to search and shortlist stuff.

 

Here's my experience in deciding which house is worth viewing:

 

0. Price! I searched based on price bracket, so anything above that wouldn't even show up...

1. Area

2. Size (no of bedroom etc)

3. The more photos the better, floor plan even better

 

Description doesn't matter much, I'm going to view it anyway and make my mind up about the house.

 

Here's another thing: not all the agents responded when I clicked the "Arrange a viewing button". So just make sure the agent is forwarding viewing requests to you!

[Vantastic 10]

4wks isn't really that long so i wouldn't panic (yet!).

 

Local agents are more expensive, but they will have a good idea of current prices and will list your property accordingly.

 

I also think there's more perceived trust with a local agent you are familiar with when searching Rightmove. Unlike some of the obscure online agents like "sell4ucheapaschips.com" etc

[davi 10]

It probably doesn`t make that much differance which agent you are with. Just make sure yours is on both Rightmove and Globrix. Most people will look on those and make up their own mind about a property. Your property has to be better and cheaper than comparable properties, as the only things that are selling are the houses that are the best value, or what appears to be a bargain.

If the house is in great condition, then you can only lower the price, or wait.

[Northside 10]

Hmm, all very helpful replies and really mirroring my own thoughts. Still no closer to what I am going to do though. Kind of tempted to change much as I resent shelling out over £2k for what exactly is unclear, however a trip home from work today revealed some boards 'for sale' but lots and lots of 'sold' ones with the same market leader, so.. ?

 

True, 4 weeks is not that long, however in the first couple of weeks there should be generally at least a viewing or 2, especially in a popular area where demand is still high. It is on Rightmove, zoopla, etc so that is all covered.

 

It's a question of keeping with the same agent and having to reduce further..and changing but 'possibly' selling at a better price so in the end the higher fee is absorbed by the higher selling price..or is it.

 

I have to sell quickly due to personal circumstances, so don't have the luxury of waiting and seeing for too long.

 

Going to give it another week and then...

 

As someone said to me today, 'well people still pay them for some reason don't they.' Would be interesting to know why they do; is it genuine unawareness/mistrust of online agents, or a serious belief in the brand, and the 'selling power' of the big names.. (well one name really in this case, as they seem to dominate the S6 area!! nobody else gets a look in:()

[Northside 10]

And Ismangil, I too found very quickly when using Rightmove that clicking to contact the agent through the site never seems to work/is ignored, so I always do (and would tell everyone looking on Rightmove to do) is note which agent is selling the property and contact them directly.

[szb100 10]

No viewings in 4 weeks = something about your property that is turning people off.

If you post a link we could help by reviewing it.

 

I sold through hatched, took 3 days, got over the asking price, and only cost me £600 rather than £2500 using a high street estate agent.

[d71146 10]

I was wondering is it possible for 'the man in the street' to be able to sell on Rightmove without involving the local 'Shark' type Estate Agents ?

[Cyclone 10]

No viewings in 4 weeks = something about your property that is turning people off.

If you post a link we could help by reviewing it.

 

I sold through hatched, took 3 days, got over the asking price, and only cost me £600 rather than £2500 using a high street estate agent.

 

I'm seeing the same thing, very few viewings. I think that's just the nature of the market at the moment, maybe you were very lucky, presumably in 3 days you only had 1 viewing.

[szb100 10]

No, had 3 viewings the first weekend, 2 offers, and 3 more people wanting to view the next weekend but decided to accept one of the two offers made.

There are buyers out there but the property has to be priced right and marketed right.