When Should You Reduce Your House Price?

How long should you wait before reducing your asking price? It’s a common question, so if you’re in this position, rest assured you are not alone. Selling a house can be a long, laborious and often frustrating process if you’re struggling to find interest or the house viewings have stopped coming through. Even if you do have plenty of people trudging through your home with their muddy shoes and sticky fingers touching everything, if no one ultimately puts an offer in, then the intrusion becomes an inconvenience.

Here at Jon Simon we have a wealth of experience selling houses, from houses for sale Ramsbottom to houses for sale Bacup. So we know a thing or two about house prices and when the ideal time is to reduce them – if this is the best way forward. In this blog we will highlight possible reasons for reducing your house price and discuss when to reduce house price UK-wide.

Reasons why you might want to reduce your house price

Before looking into when to reduce the price of your house, let’s take a quick look at some of the reasons why you may wish to do so in the first place: 

• Lack of interest: If your property has been on the market for a while with little to no offers, the price may be too high. In truth, almost every house has the potential to sell, so if yours isn’t then maybe people feel the value of it is not worth it. Your two general options are to make improvements to the property or reduce the price.
• Cheaper properties elsewhere: If similar properties in your area are selling for less, buyers may see your home as overpriced. Some quick market research will tell you if you are setting the bar too high.
• Changing market conditions: A shift in the property market can lower demand. This may include rising interest rates or an economic downturn. Unfortunately, this is not something you can control and is very much a case of rolling with the punches.
• Buyer vs seller market: If there are more sellers than buyers in the market, you may need to reduce the price to stay competitive.
• Negative feedback: If multiple potential buyers or viewers say your home is overpriced, it’s a sure sign you may need to lower it. Talk to your estate agent if you have one to find out if you have overpriced your property. 
• You’re in a hurry to sell: If you need to move quickly due to a job relocation, financial reasons, or personal circumstances, a price reduction can speed up the sale.
• Your property has been on the market too long: The longer a property is listed on the market, the more buyers assume something is wrong with it. Which is fair enough, why would a property not sell if everything else is okay with it? Reducing the price may help. 
• Failed sales: If previous sales have fallen through, a reduction may help attract more concrete buyers.

You must ask yourself though, is there a real need to change your asking price? Was your initial valuation conducted with research and care? If so, then the problem may lie elsewhere. Perhaps demand has changed, or there is something aesthetically off-putting about your home. It is difficult to know unless you speak to your estate agent to find out if a reduction is indeed necessary.

You should ask your estate agent for feedback from people who view your home. Viewers often don’t feel comfortable giving feedback directly to you, or during the actual viewing, but will happily share their thoughts with the estate agency afterwards. This feedback could be essential for helping you to address any potential issues that is preventing you from selling your home. For this reason, it’s a wise idea to allow the estate agents to conduct and handle your viewings.

How long to wait before reducing house price

The longer your home remains on the market, the harder it will be to sell. This is the hard truth of it, statistically speaking. People will assume it has been viewed and turned down, and in their minds, there must be a reason for this. If you reduce the price several times across an extended period, people again may start to assume there is something wrong with it or feel that it has lost its appeal. So it’s about trying to get the right balance and choosing the correct time. There is no hard and fast answer to this.

The better option is to have an estate agency properly inspect and value your property in the first place to ensure the asking price is fair. If it still struggles to sell, there are some other things you could consider before reducing the price.

Consider holding off on reducing the price

There are a number of things you could consider doing first before reducing your house price, including:

• Seeking out additional valuations: First off, you should get expert advice from your estate agents on whether or not the price is right. If you have overpriced, then of course reducing the cost will be a sensible step.
• Postponing the sale: If you’ve been on the open market for a while, it may help to take the property back off the market and try again during a time when there are more active buyers. For instance, the summer months are generally easier in comparison to winter.
• Making home improvements: Is there anything you can do to improve your home’s kerb appeal or sale value? Is there anything particularly off-putting about it? Sometimes just making some aesthetic changes can boost your chances of a sale, and may even land you a higher selling price.

Contact Jon Simon for more information

Would you like some more information on when to reduce house price UK wide? Perhaps you’re struggling to sell your property and would like some advice on how to speed up the process? Whatever it is that you need information on the team here at Jon Simon Estate Agents are more than happy to help.

Our market-led and supportive services will ensure your house sale goes through as quickly as possible. We can also help with any rental related enquiries, with a full list of houses to rent Radcliffe, Ramsbottom, Bury, and many more areas in the local region. Come and visit our offices for our estate agents Burnley, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom, or Bacup. Alternatively, to get in touch, just email info@jonsimon.co.uk or call our team today.

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