Buyers market - no one is even LOOKING at my house!

[oneuppmanship]

Some excellent suggestions already.

The Colour scheme would immediately make me want to offer 1000's of dollars less if the price were good enough to get me there in the first instance.

Rectify this somewhat by painting with a neutral scheme as already suggested, but keep some of the painted walls as feature walls.

 

[Gools]

YR, I'm surprised you had trouble picking the best agent for the job. In my area there is one stand out agent that works really hard on her profile and appears to have a decent grasp on what needs to do to sell a property. Is there a similar agent in your area? What does the local gossip tell you about the best person to use if it comes to that?

The other suggestion I would make about the photos, can you get front of the house photo taken in the morning when there is decent sunlight on the front of the house? It's wont look so dark and dreary then.

Some decent photos taken with a 'proper' wide angle lense will do the world of good. Narrow angle photos of rooms look terrible no matter their size. Just like the bedroom with the dark wall, all you can see is the dark wall.

Good luck.

Gools

 

[WillG]

What kind of buyers are you expecting to attract? Retirees, executives, young upgraders?

What is the average wage in the area?

Where would prospective buyers generally work? The gold coast, coolongatta ...?

What other markets would you be competing with?

PS. I don't know the area at all but why would I buy your property over properties closer to the beaches?

 

[yvetterydman]

Wow, more great advice and sugestions! I really do appreciate all this. I am not very knowledgable in the ways of the real estate market and this is helping me a lot. So far I have...

Dropped the price to $499 000

Got new photos done by the REA (will look to professional ones next week)

Having an open house this Saturday

Will drop 100 or so brochures tommorw rom the REA with OPEN HOUSE written on them

Revamped the copy on RE.com site for the house - and decided what market to aim for (primarily young families or newly marrieds starting a family)

Am working towards changing the colour scheme somewhat

Got the floor plan onto RE.com

Got the open house date for this Sat onto RE.com today

I LOVE the suggestion about putting a tablecloth and candles on the outdoor setting with the sunset in the background etc (thanks, Winston Wolfe, for all your advice)

Next days off will get some gravel to put alongside the driveway to hide the dead bits and bare dirt

Will plant some pretty stuff infront of the house (infront of front door)

Cross my fingers that something good happens!

Any more advice is more than welcome, trust me!!!!

 

[The Y-man]

What kind of buyers are you expecting to attract? Retirees, executives, young upgraders?

What is the average wage in the area?

Where would prospective buyers generally work? The gold coast, coolongatta ...?

What other markets would you be competing with?

PS. I don't know the area at all but why would I buy your property over properties closer to the beaches?

I've got similar questions.

Not sure the target market for this....

Also - nice view of the powerlines!

The Y-man

 

[willair]

Wow, more great advice and sugestions! I really do appreciate all this. I am not very knowledgable in the ways of the real estate market and this is helping me a lot. So far I have...

Dropped the price to $499 000

Got new photos done by the REA (will look to professional ones next week)

Having an open house this Saturday

Will drop 100 or so brochures tommorw rom the REA with OPEN HOUSE written on them

Revamped the copy on RE.com site for the house - and decided what market to aim for (primarily young families or newly marrieds starting a family)

Am working towards changing the colour scheme somewhat

Got the floor plan onto RE.com

Got the open house date
Any more advice is more than welcome, trust me!!!!

This is not advice but it might be an idea to look into if you could Swap or exchange the property you have for something else is the price range,there was a swap deal in the paper last week-1freehold Hotel town-plus freehold 20 Site Caravan for both working for 450kono both clean contracts and titles ,because you can only lower your price so far ..willair..

 

[WinstonWolfe]

Yvette, some data sources for local unemployment:

Qtrly Regional Labour Markets
The annual change in unemployment to the March 2010 quarter, saw the Gold Coast region rise by 33.5% to 7.2%.

Qtrly Small Area Labour Markets
Sub areas of the GOld Coast show a trend of increasing unemployment.

Last 5 quarters to Mar2010
Southport 8.5 8.6 8.8 9.1 9.6
Burleigh Heads 5.7 5.9 6.2 6.5 6.8
Bilinga-Tugun 7.3 8.0 8.6 9.1 9.8

To me, this confirms the Gold Coast as in very much the slower part of Australia's growing 2 speed economy. While unemployment rises, property may be flat to negative.

 

[brrmm]

Here's my 2bobs worth.

Personally I LOVE the colours in your home.

I think the colours are in keeping with the feel of the area you're in (Nthn NSW) and wouldn't bother with changing to neutral. You'll only achieve a bland urban look.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Get the home styled with groovy furniture/knick knacks and artwork that suit the colours in the place and the style of Nthn NSW. Spend the $$ on the styling, not on the inconvenience of making your place look like everything else.

2. After the fabulous styling - get your friend to take some great pics, including the BBQ on the deck and the view.

3. Relaunch onto RE.com (so that you're top of the list, or NEW again) with your new price and maybe even new REA.

You've got a lovely home here that should sell easily. Take heart in the fact that it's just a slow market at the moment.

I really mean getting a GOOD stylist in - surely there must be some funky Byron Bay type or Gold Coast type that can really give it some oomph ?

Best wishes.

 

[yvetterydman]

Today hubby and I bought new chrome handles to put on all the cupboards in the kitchen (I hate the old plastic D handles.... these are nice silver ones that make the kitchen look more modern imho) and we put gravel up the side of the driveway where the dirt was really bare and yucky, and we put a little garden in front of where the front door is, again to hide lots of dirt patches,and make it look nice. All in all cost less than $100 and I love it and think it makes the place look nicer. Thanks for whoever suggested to cover the dirt up!!!! (or at least, not show the dirt! lol)

YR

p.s. open house on Saturday......

 

[lommejc]

Hey sis

Looks good, photos are definately better, and having floor plan is good, price is better still! Now yours is one of the top houses available in that bracket. Be better still when you have professional ones done! Make a list of all the suggestions you've received and see what works (you know how I love lists!) I hope your open house goes well.

Also, I like the changes made to the dialogue, really sounds good (ie - I like whomever changed my draft)

You can be confident if you are really focusing on what you can do, then you will achieve the best possible for it. Keep trying to think laterally and keep it fresh.
Love you

 

[lizzie]

okay - i'm going to go in guns blazing, having just sold our current reno for above expectations. i wish i could point you to the web listing but they have taken down all but the front photo ....

what you need to keep in the front of your mind is that you are NOT selling a house. you ARE selling a lifestyle - you need to make that lifestyle very desirable, even if you are taking most of the "bits" with you. and even if you set the house for the photos only, and move it back to how you like it for living in ...

1. the green is okay, but needs to be severely toned down. i notice that even your cornices and doors are painted in the green. repaint some sections in white like the room divider behind the tables and the doors, and leave no more than 2 walls in each room in the green.

2. severely declutter. put away all personal photos and give the property a major tidy up - the bookcase in the family room is a mess, tv on the floor, the runner and jewelry on tallboy, tissue boxes on the bedside tables - almost everything needs to be put away for the photos (and again for the open). this includes taking the tablecloth off the table and i'd probably take most of the pictures off the wall that you have up.

3. re-orinate the family room. a view of the back of a dark couch is not appealing at all. and tv's stuck in corners not designed for tv's looks cheap.

4. now you can start putting back in ... buy some colour appropriate (neutal - white, silver, light grey if going against a highly coloured background; brightly coloured if going against a light neutral background) cushions, candlesticks, paintings, bowls, throws, pillow cases, pots etc from reject/hot dollar/$2 shop and redecorate your home. the candlestick on top of your kitchen cupboards would look great with some candles in them on the dining table. large neutral paintings (get the ones that look like oil paintings, not just cheap prints) would cover the walls and give a focal point for the eye. you need to make the house look luxurious. don't put red in these rooms as red and green scream at each other.

basically, you need to stage the house so people "don't see" the flaws but only look at the wow! factor. believe me - it works.

5. i wouldn't have photos of the back garden as all it does is emphasis how steep and inaccessable it is - have better photos of the view instead!

6. make your bedroom luxurious - white linen, several pillows in crisp white and silver, get rid of the homemade painting over the bed and put up something large and lucious - i bought some cheap blank canvases and stretched (and stapled at the back) some funky material ($2/m) that kept in with the colour scheme of white, grey and black - perhaps you could have white/grey and red, then add some red cushions to the now white bed? i don't have a problem with the black, but you need to tone it right down. put a large mirror propped on the tall dresser and invest in some tall "wow" beside lights from bunnings or hot dollar shop.

7. make your kitchen gourmet. get rid of the knife block, drainer and paper towel holder ... is that a microwave on the bench or a oven thing? even put away the toaster if you have room. anyhow, put on the return a lovely bowl of mixed fruit and paint the kitchen area white.

8. don't do flowers or any other fiddly or intricate looking decorating - what you need to do is neutralise and tone down what is happening inside so that the view takes over ... and lux up the property.

9. GET A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER.

anyhow - i've probably said enough ... but i will repeated "you are not selling the house, you are selling the lifestyle". you need to make that lifestyle very desirable to a buyer.

 

[lizzie]

i lied - the photos do still rotate thru ...

http://daltonpartners.com.au/index.cfm?pageCall=property&propertyID=1386196

 

[fATICAN]

rent it

If your agent isn't giving you feedback on what the market is doing/thinking/planning...he's not a good agent.
If there's no market..(and you can check this by driving around and checking the 'for sale'/'sold' signs)..think about renting it out whilst you go & try living in Berriedale...who knows you might end up hating it..it's cooollddd!!...
by the time October rolls around, the market up there may have improved enough for you to try again...there's no point in dropping your price if cheaper homes are also not selling...really study what's happening out there..go to the open houses and ask the agents/owners..''what's up?''..any offers?..educate yourselves and be realistic..

 

[fATICAN]

Also, if you persist in selling..get some photos of the Kitchen/bathroom/laundry/garage these are the areas that sell...women want the first 3 and men need a shed..so, show'em off.

 

[yvetterydman]

Thanks, Lizzie and Fatican. I have taken your advices to heart and will put them into action asap (when I get a few mins spare). We are changing real estate agents when this guy's contract is up. I like him, but I feel that another agency can do better. I have discovered a site called findmeanagent.com.au which seems to be okay. Basically they choose three of the best (best meaning those with most sales/local knowledge/etc) in the area and provide a profile of them to you to choose one. Has anyone heard of this service?

YR
p.s. no one came to our open house last Sat..

 

[Rooster]

1. the green is okay, but needs to be severely toned down. i notice that even your cornices and doors are painted in the green.

And garage door and render and roof. Way over the top. I'm not so sure the green is okay.

Fantastic views and location but all that green is disgraceful.

Other people have commented that it stands out from other "suburban" houses, but those boring suburban types are the majority and that is who your target audience is.

Sadly, individuality needs to be put aside when selling a house.

Cheers

Rooster

 

[Sheryn]

YR

I went to 3 open houses on Saturday (not your area). One open house I could not understand from looking at Realestate.com.au why this hosue had not sold - so it was worth my time to go and have a look.

Front yard - messy and grass not cut etc.

Inside house - too may dark walls and individual goes at decorating one pier was gold (bad workmanship).

Lounge in wrong area blocking open walkway etc.

Kitchen & dining area not too bad, neat & tidy.

Bedrooms and bathrooms - shockingly poor presentation. Main bed was just pulled up, stuff all over kids floors and walls, clothes on floor, toilet seats up, wet towels ot hung up properly etc.

Anyway when I went outside I found that 2 houses look down on side yard - this possibly wouldn't be too bad as not the side of house that you would live and entertain on.

Overall feeling - Owners had build a good newish house and had devalued it by their own decorating, lack of cleaning and picking up after themselves.

Did I mention that there was a dog barking in the garage the whole time I was there and the garage was full of stuff - so full you couldn't park a car there.

To top this off - the female owner of the property arrived back about 2minutes after open house was to finish, there was still one older couple inside who were genuinely looking to buy in the area and myself outside getting into car.

Anyway she drove into the driveway really fast, slammed her car door, slammed the front screen door as she entered the house at a fast pace, she would have interupted the REA & his clients discussion I am sure.

Sometimes sellers behaviours are their own worse enemy.

Regards
Sheryn

 

[lizzie]

but those boring suburban types are the majority and that is who your target audience is.

there is a reason there are so many boring, neutral houses - it's because it is what the majority of people like to live in.

also, when decorating, it's important to remember that over 80% of women are orientated towards "summer/winter" *colours, so i always try to decorate in these colour scheme.

*for those who don't know the colour me beautiful system where "people" are deemed to be of a certain colour tone - there are 4 seasons: winter, summer, spring and autumn - in each season every colour in the colour range exists with tonal differences. for example - an autumn green is kahki, the spring green is lime, the winter green is a dark pure green and the summer green is a cool pastel (there are many more variances, but this gives an idea)

autumn and spring are warm undertones. winter and summer are cool undertones - hence when decorating i try to choose colours with cool undertones to appeal to a wider audience of buyers (even tho i am a warm spring and hence look better in warm pastels myself). being a spring, i can find this cool colouring difficult to get right - but i know it's importance if i am wanting to sell.

therefore, that is why i am suggesting YR tone down the warm green to try and make the home appear of a more cool ambiance ... black, cool grey, white, off white and silver will hopefully achieve this. even a warm off white painting with silver or cool grey in it will drag the colour scheme back to desirable as the cool colours are more powerful than that warm in visual aspects.

sounds weird, i know, but a lot of people will look at a house colour and say "i don't like it" without realising why - and it's generally because it's in a different tonal range than themselves ... so with the majority of people in the cool colour range, this is where you need to be.

hope that all made sense

 

[lizzie]

p.s. i think that is why more people have commented on the inside green, rather than the outside green.

the majority of the outside green is a cool green - except the garage door - and therefore more appealing (or less offensive depending on your view).

the inside green is a warm green that is less attractive to more than 80% of the the population - but mainly women because they are more sensitve to colour - it also clashes with the white ceiling, benchtop and tiles (all cool colours).

the painters were probably trying to bring "nature" inside - but the majority of greens in nature are also cool greens.

 

[INVSTOR]

Well said Lizzie, i wanted to Kudos you but it says I need to spread them around!