The Times, 25/04/2025

We live in paradise — why won’t anyone buy our property?

Quoting Charlie Rearden of Stacks Property Finders

Lack of comparables make it tricky to value properties like Lock Keepers Cottage, according to Charlie Rearden, a buying agent who covers Northamptonshire for Stacks Property Search. “I met Mel and Matt in 2022 and I said to them, let me guess, you’ve had valuations anywhere between £1.3 million and £2 million. Mel said, ‘You’re exactly right.’ If you’re in London you can say, No 67 sold for this and it’s the same size. But this one is unique. In Northamptonshire you should be able to achieve £300 to £400 a square foot.”

Rearden recommends changing their listings to emphasise the revenue potential of the outbuildings. “It’s a really good selling point. You can earn £40,000 a year … It would suit someone who wants to almost live off-grid, generate income and cover their mortgage.”

He says the spring 2025 market is a good opportunity for the couple. “People with 2024 properties are selling in 2025 if they adjust the price. It’s been on at £1.5 million for a long time. I would say to the agent, if you’ve had six weeks with no viewings, drop the price to £1.35 to £1.4 million to bring in the viewings. In the Covid boom, a moderately priced property with two or three interested parties would go into best and finals and achieve numbers in excess of where they started. The overpriced properties weren’t as successful.”

Henry Pryor, another buying agent, is giving tougher love. “They need to set their asking price at probably nearer £1.25 million. That doesn’t mean they won’t get £1.35 million or £1.5 million. But the market is incredibly price sensitive. Most people are unaware that half the houses that go on the market don’t sell.”

According to the property database TwentyCi, only 34 per cent of properties listed for more than £1 million sold in 2024.

“If you look at the National Association of Estate Agents’ numbers last month the proportion of properties that sold for less than the asking price was 83 per cent,” Pryor says. “And that’s because people get carried away. Agents compete with one another to be optimistic, because — guess what? — sellers like optimism.”

They’ve got to bite the bullet, Pryor says. “Set the price at a level like you would in an auction, where the reserve is less than people are hoping to achieve.”

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