It’s very frustrating when you aren’t getting viewings. I spoke to a lady recently who has only had one viewing in three years! Even having your home for sale for a few months without a viewing is worrying. It’s normal to get an initial flurry of viewings in the first few weeks on the market, and for that interest to wane a little as the weeks and months progress.
But what can you do when viewings peter out altogether? You know what your agent will advise – if they haven’t already. “Drop the price” they will tell you. So what else can you do to revive interest, other than dropping your asking price?
- Ask for your Rightmove Property Performance Report. This is data your estate agent has access to, inside the Rightmove console. If they are not using Rightmove, they will be able to access similar statistics within Zoopla, On the Market or Prime Location. Property listings with images and floorplans, that are updated regularly, have the best performance metrics on Rightmove and the other portals. The Report also shows the number of times your property listing was clicked on over the last 7, 14 or 30 days, together with a comparable against the previous period. Additionally, this statistic can be compared against similar property listings on Rightmove, so you can see whether your property advert is competing well or not. A ‘similar’ listing is typically what a searcher would see alongside your property when they search on Rightmove, and therefore could be considered as your ‘competition’. If your home listing is not performing or competing well, it could be a strong indicator of the reason you’re not getting viewings on your house. Check your photographs – do they really show your home at its best, and are they up to date? If your outside images reflect a different season than the current one, ask your estate agent to re-photograph your house and garden. Then check your next performance report to see if your numbers have increased.
- Revisit your property description. Firstly, draw up a profile of the kind of person you think is most likely to buy your home. Age, status, motivation for moving, and so on. Then write down a list of adjectives about your house that you think would most appeal to these target buyers. Look at your property description – does it need rewriting to incorporate these key words? Your agent can help you with this. I’ve changed property listings in the past to better appeal to a family, or to someone looking for a change in lifestyle. Words matter, so make sure your written description best sells the primary features of your home, to the person most likely to be attracted to those features.
- Commission a home stylist. Often for less than £200 a professional home stylist will look at your home with a critical and unbiased eye and advise you on what you can do to make the most of your house: usually there is very little expenditure necessary, but small changes can make big improvements in attracting the right buyer.
Final thoughts
When you discuss your home’s saleability with your estate agent, explain that you’d like to improve the presentation and the marketing, before considering a price drop. Until those two elements of your home’s saleability are as good as they can be, you won’t be able to eliminate the possible reasons for the lack of viewings.
Happy selling!
If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.
Can I suggest that you also make sure that your agent has commissioned a proper and accurate floor plan and decent photos! It still amazes me how many agents think a floor plan without a few fundamental details such as doors and a couple of miserable photos will suffice!
I dare not even mention HIPs!
I quite agree Hilary! Have you seen our blog Floorplans – Do we need them? https://www.home-truths.co.uk/blog/floorplans-do-we-need-them/ You’re absolutely right that floorplans are a fundamental part of property marketing, and don’t even get me started on photography!
Thanks for sharing. Sam.
Amazing that estate agents still persist with awful point and shoot photographs to sell products valued in hundreds of thousands, even understanding as they do that for private buyers home buying is a largely emotional process. Good photographs inspire people to book a viewing, to make the call, to make the trip – and the more people that you inspire the more likely you are to achieve (or even exceed!) the asking price. Keep up the good work Sam!
Great blog.
I agree with it all
Keep your listings current an relaunch any changes
We use Metropix for floor plans.
And even add in toilets and sinks, beds and couches….
Keep interest in the property and let the client know weekly what the property performance is doing.
And remember there is no excuse for shoddy pics and minimal words………
John c.
Thanks John! Keeping current is so important; buyers can sense how long a property has been for sale, and after all, who wants to buy a home that no one else wants? Proactive agents like you will always keep marketing fresh and the viewings coming. Keep up the good work! Sam
Thanks Haakon! Photographs are the window to your home, and so many people – agents too – underestimate their importance. Thank goodness for great photographers like you raising the bar!
Hi Sam, great post and very informative.
I too have been struggling to get viewers through the door, we haven’t had a viewing for 5 months. I’ve tried to look at everything you’ve said here apart from the home stager, but still this hasn’t made a difference. It is not appearing in many searches on rightmove from what I can see on the performance report. I have even produced my own 3D visuals, taken new photos of the property and dropped the asking price by £10k, even though we can’t really afford to! Any suggestions would be really appreciated!
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38497852.html
Thanks.
Andy
Crikey Andy – this looks a real bargain! I do however have some more suggestions about improving the marketing – would you like to give me a call and I can run through some ideas? 015242 74317
Sam
I have had my place on the market for 4 weeks and as far as I know only one viewing that I am aware of. I am not at the property so have left it in the hands of the estate agents. When I question the estate agents all they say is I am doing well on rightmove, its ok people looking on the internet but whatever the advertising it is not getting people to physically visit the property. It is a one bedroom flat with a small garden, in just off the local high street. I admit it is not everyone’s cup of tea but it is quite big for a flat and has recently been re-decorated. An perfect opportunity for an investor to buy to rent out. Am I being fobbed off or just wasting my time trying to sell it
I have had my place on the market for 4 weeks and as far as I know only one viewing that I am aware of. (not even sure if this took place as I haven’t received any feedback) I am not at the property so have left it in the hands of the estate agents. When I question the estate agents all they say is I am doing well on rightmove, its ok people looking on the internet but whatever the advertising it is not getting people to physically visit the property. It is a one bedroom flat with a small garden, in just off the local high street. I admit it is not everyone’s cup of tea but it is quite big for a flat and has recently been re-decorated. An perfect opportunity for an investor to buy to rent out. I am signed up with the estate agents for 12 weeks on a sole selling basis and ideally want to get the property sold so I can move on.
We’ve had our house on the market for almost five months now with only one viewing. We reduced the price in June but still nothing. We get good click throughs on right move and other websites but drawing a blank. We are loath to reduce the price again.
We have now gone with a second agent on a dual agency basis to see if that stirs up some interest but nothing yet. We moved out three weeks ago and rented a property in a different part of the country. and left the property in the hands of the agents but are really keen to sell so we can buy something in the area we have moved to. Selling is soooo frustrating with very little feedback about anything we can do.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53124644.html?premiumA=true
we have had beautiful photos, with well styled descriptions by various agents, local and national, several price drops over five years and not one viewing. We have a pretty cottage with an annex, a moderate garden and open country views within easy commuting distance of London and other large conurbations, with excellent travel links by rail and motorway to Luton airport, the North and the South. After several years of trying I have come to realise that I have bought a house no-one else wants. I am glad that I have not moved my family into rented accommodation and I hope Paul has more luck than me.