Great house. Still not sold after 7 weeks !

G

gormleyp

Guest
I am on the brink of despair.
I am selling a great house in Lusk, one of the best 4 bed houses in north Dublin (I'm not joking) and it has not yet sold. We have had 12 viewings at this stage, 4 of which have registered their interest. However, they haven't yet put down a firm offer.
People have been consoling me in reminding me that buyers are waiting on the outcome of the budget as well as the fact that winter is a bad time to sell, blah blah blah.
What is the story folks? Will it sell in January or what?
Appreciate your thoughts?
 
I have recently contacted an Auctioneer about a property I had interest in to get some details on it, I was shocked to hear that no bid had been put on it as it was detached in a lovely quiet area. I then discussed selling my own property that is in what they usually advertise as being "in a sought after area" and to my astonishment he said that while it was a good time to purchase he did not think it would be a good time for me to sell. He put it down more to the rising interest rates, the constant hype about the property boom/ collapse and for want of a better word the scaremongering that seems to be on-going in Ireland at the moment about the Property Market.

The winter months have always been known as a quiet time for the housing Market but all it takes is one person to place a bid and it usually gets the ball rolling.

Hope it goes well for you
 
Property inventory seems to be building up accross Ireland. Either you wait for the budget in the hope that this is what all the potential buyers have been waiting for, or your drop your price in order to stimulate interest.
 
If there is no problem with the house then your problem is price. Be very wary of listening to those who are eager to "talk up" the market, and listen to what your instincts are telling you.
 
Plain and simple it would seem your price is too high. You can hope that Cowen buckles under the pressure from the VI's and makes changes to SD or you could reduce the price which would probably pre-empt anything which might go on in the budget. If Cowen doesn't do anything with SD there could be a new wave of properties hitting the market whose owners had been hoping in a change in SD which will further lead to downward pressure on prices.

If Trichet after the next increase in IR indicates that there will be further increases coming down the line this will further compound the problem for vendors.
 
I have noticed that houses in Lusk (especially in the Lusk village estate) are very slow to move. These houses are very nice inside but with no front gardens,and limited parking, they would not be everyone's cup of tea.
Perhaps you are in a different estate, but the slowdown is everywhere to some extent.
 
Am guessing its one of those 4 beds in the model estates they built in Lusk. Problem is that they fall into FTB territory in that one would not usually trade up to those properties. The increase in price has gone beyond FTB's so they only now serve a small niche market.
 
There are many good reasons to sell a great house. How is this question relevant?

Like I said, if it is such a great house ('one of the best in North County Dublin', why sell? if it is because you are moving abroad etc., fine. If you are moving down the road, maybe potential buyers will be wary?

Btw-the OP is free the ignore my question.
 
There's no need to panic after only 7 weeks! Houses aren't exactly the most liquid asset around. In many property markets around the world it can take years for houses to sell in the second hand market. If you're in a rush to sell it though, adjusting the price could hurry things along.
 
The seller never said s/he actually lives in the house. But I doubt if any of the potential buyers ask "Where is the seller moving to?" anyway.
 
The seller never said s/he actually lives in the house. But I doubt if any of the potential buyers ask "Where is the seller moving to?" anyway.

Any time we ever looked at a house we always asked why the seller was moving. It's a very relevant question.
 
Any time we ever looked at a house we always asked why the seller was moving. It's a very relevant question.

You're not likely to get an answer that should influence your decision.

It might help in working out possible closing dates or how much pressure you could apply in negotiations. If their reason for moving is due to something negative about the property or area, most vendors will not tell you!

In response to the OP's question, the budget is unlikely to make much of a difference and October/November is not usually a bad time to sell. There will be a lot of property coming on the market in January so I would make sure that the price is very competitive to get it shifted sooner, there are still buyers about for property that is priced well.
 
There are clear changes in the housing market. In my estate houses always got to "Sale Agreed" within a few days, but there are 4 lovely houses for sale at the moment that haven't moved at all. Some of these have been on the market for over 2 months now.

Regarding Lusk, I had that location on my wish list along with Skerries and Rush. However, I have since heard that Fingal Council plan to build a "superdump" in Lusk so I am no longer interested in moving there (nimby-ism). Lots of people are also waiting for the outcome of the Budget before they make a decision. I expect things will pick up in the New Year, but it is much more of a Buyers Market now than it has been for a long time, there is a lot of stock available and this should drive prices down.
 
I'm afraid the downturn is not just in Dublin and has started long before there was any mention of a change in stamp duty.

I've gone sale agreed on a house that went on the market around end of July. Very popular estate in regional town. Had one viewer in first 6 weeks.
No bids. Ended up reducing the price by 10,000 euro less than the last house on the estate that sold. And that was to the single bidder!

If she had tried to push an even lower price I probably would have agreed as I needed to get it sold.

If you need to sell reduce the price now before other sellers do and you are forced to cut your price by more.
 
If it is so great, why are you selling?


Well my friend, I am selling because I want to move back home (north of ireland).
Nothing to do with the area I'm living in. If I wanted to stay in Dublin I would be happy to continue living in this house.
The price was put on the house by the Estate Agent who said it should actually fetch more ! - its underpriced if anything.
If there is no activity in the immediate aftermath of the budget, I may reluctantly lower the price.
 
Well my friend, I am selling because I want to move back home (north of ireland).
Nothing to do with the area I'm living in. If I wanted to stay in Dublin I would be happy to continue living in this house.
The price was put on the house by the Estate Agent who said it should actually fetch more ! - its underpriced if anything.
If there is no activity in the immediate aftermath of the budget, I may reluctantly lower the price.

For someone "on the brink of despair" you still appear pretty bullish. Time obviously isn't that big of a factor for you, what are you despairing over?
 
There is only one reason a property wont sell - you are asking too much for it. Sellers are still setting asking prices above what existed at the start of the summer, thinking that prices should have increased. If you want to sell drop the price 2 or 3 percent at least.
 
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