Plenty of property viewings but why no offer?
Nathan Walker, Sales Director, discusses why we may be attracting plenty of property viewings but no substantial offers...
Selling your property can seem a tough task if months are passing by with no offers coming in. It can also leave home sellers feeling frustrated and concerned, especially if there’s a high volume of viewers walking through the door, yet still no solid offers to buy - perhaps not even a hint of serious interest
It’s not even as though a seller can just sit back and wait for their estate agent to roll up with even more viewers.
Firstly, the seller should be ensuring their agents are doing all they can to stoke up interest in the home and are offering them sound advice - whether that’s related to the asking price, the property itself, how the specific area is performing in the current property market etc.
Secondly, with a regular trickle of viewers but no offers, there’s sure to be a great deal of tidying, vacuuming, and finding ways to vacate the property for a couple of hours every few days.
It’s no wonder that the same old story of the viewers not quite finding what they were looking for from your property is a frustration for home sellers.
Check Out: Our 13 point guide to selling your property
Unfortunately, there are stories out there where some homeowners are receiving 10, 20, 30 viewings over several months, with none resulting in an offer or second viewing - or at least nothing substantial or realistic.
We know that in a regular property market that isn’t being too influenced by outside factors, as per a benchmark property sales study by The Advisory, the average time it takes from taking a property to market to accepting an offer is around 7 weeks, and this is usually concluded within an average of 10 viewings. This means that on average we’d probably expect a high 30 view count to yield at least 6 second viewings, several low offers and at least three offers that we’d expect the seller to seriously consider.
Therefore, it’s clear to see that if a property is racking up dozens of viewings but not landing any offers at all, then something needs to be addressed (excuse the pun).
Why isn’t my property getting any offers?
The reason your property isn’t getting any offers from potential suitors is likely down to one or some of the following:
The marketing of the property is inaccurate
The images that are used to entice buyers into viewing the property might be misleading - the use of a wide-angled lens to make rooms appear far bigger than they actually are is a popular one – or the description may be missing out vital information that many buyers aren’t looking for, such as the property being located next door to a row of busy shops or that there is no garage or garden. The marketing of your property needs to highlight its best features and present it as well as can be, but it can’t be misleading.
An over-enthusiastic estate agent
It could be a case of your chosen estate agent showing the property off to anyone who is looking to buy - no matter how unsuitable it may be for them. This raises the number of viewers and shows that the agent is actively trying to push a sale for you, but if its being viewed largely by a wrong audience then it’s unlikely to attract any real interest from the vast majority of them, let alone an offer. You’re better off with a smaller select number of viewers who believe the property may tick all of the boxes from the outset, rather than dozens who are actually seeking something quite different.
Not taking viewer feedback onboard
Those viewers who felt the property wasn’t for them may not be the buyers you were hoping for, but they can certainly help by pointing out the reasons why. Finding out why a viewer ultimately wasn’t interested can be extremely useful, especially if you find you can do something about many of the reasons that are stated.
Failure to present the property in its best light
It could simply be a case of the property in question not being best prepared for viewings. Whether its basic tidying, decorating certain rooms, or doing something about the animal smells from 3 dogs, 4 cats and a hamster - you really do need to present the property to potential buyers in the best manner possible. Staging your property for photography and viewings could definitely be the thing that sets your property apart from the competition.
When all is said and done, you’re in a better position tackling the problem of too many viewings but no offers, rather than having no viewings at all. If the viewers are coming, it shows that the property market is buoyant within your location and plenty are willing to check out the type of property you’re trying to sell. Now it’s just a case of working with property experts and putting a plan in place to start turning some of those viewings into substantial offers.
Are you interested in selling a property in Cardiff? If so, get in touch with our expert sales team here at CPS Homes. With three branches spread across the city and years of property market experience, we are perfectly placed to help you attract that sale. Call us on 02920 668585, e-mail enquiries@cpshomes.co.uk or pop into one of our Cardiff branches.
