When to worry about a home that’s not selling

Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, with plenty of opportunities to worry along the way.

Often these worries can be smoothed away and a home will eventually find its new owner. Sometimes there may be reason for genuine concern.

So, let’s take a look at how long things should take and highlight any other examples of red flags that might mean you need to make changes.

According to our data it takes around a month (32 days) for the average home in the UK to go under offer, and then a further 152 days before the sale is complete.

In total, the average home takes 185 days to sell from when it's first marketed. That’s around 25 weeks, or just under six months.

There are several stages to go through once an offer is accepted on your home and the sale can complete.

Find out more about these stages in detail in our guide: How long does it take to sell a house?

This is a typical ‘how long is a piece of string’ question. There is no right or wrong answer. Your home sale might take a long time, or it might be speedy.

While we deal in average selling times here at Zoopla, remember that the UK is full of different housing markets.

What might be normal in London might be extraordinary in Newcastle. What might take no time in a city might take weeks or months longer in the country.

Get to know the market you live in well before starting to worry. Chances are it’s a waiting game.

There are few key signs to look out for that suggest things might be going wrong:

Viewings are few and far between

One of the surest ways to tell if your home isn’t getting the attention needed for a quick sale is a lack of viewings. You can see on Zoopla how many 'hits' your home’s digital listing is getting.

If there are tens or hundreds or even thousands of people viewing your home online, this should translate to real life viewings within a few days. If you’re not getting eyeballs on your listing or there are few viewings scheduled, something might be putting people off.

No offers

If your home is getting lots of viewings but this isn’t translating into formal offers there might be a problem. It might be as simple as waiting for the right buyer to come along. But it can also be a sign that your home is being marketed badly, that it is priced wrong or something about it is proving to be an unpleasant surprise.

Sitting on the market for ages

The average UK home goes under offer in around a month. But there's a huge range within this average. Homes priced for first-time buyers typically sell quicker than larger or higher-value homes. If your home is sitting there for months with not much interest, this could be a sign there’s a problem you need to address. 

If you’re not getting enough viewings

There might be a few reasons your home isn’t getting enough viewings. If the digital listing is getting attention but nobody’s turning up in person the marketing could well be the problem.

Poor quality photographs, a badly written description, missing elements viewers expect (for example no floorplan) might be the culprit.

Another big tell might be that it has been priced too high. Talk to your estate agent and listen to any feedback from honest friends and neighbours.

If you’re not getting offers

Everyone likes to think their home is great. But if yours isn’t selling quickly and you’re not sure why it isn’t getting any offers, a bit of constructive feedback could be key.

Invite your most honest friends around for a look and ask them what they think. You might find out that not everyone wants a hot pink living room carpet.

Understanding buyers’ mindsets will help you and your estate agent price the home or decide on any changes.

If you’ve had negative feedback

As above, if there’s one obvious thing that buyers don’t like about your home, you’ll need to weigh up if it’s worth your spending the money to get it fixed.

If the feedback in general is less specific, you might consider getting the experts in to give your home an overhaul.

If there’s a smell of damp or something structural that raises eyebrows, you should get an appropriate tradesperson in to take a look.

If your home is cluttered or decorated to eclectic taste, then consider doing a Marie Kondo. Making things clean and fresh is never a bad decision.

If you don't know where to start then consider enlisting the help of a home staging company.

10 things that affect your home valuation

How should I react if I think my home isn't selling?

The key thing is not to panic. While we’re hugely attached to our homes, which for many of us represent our biggest financial asset, we need to be clear-headed.

The old adage about speculating to accumulate isn’t quite as complicated as it sounds. If all it takes to sell your home is a good clear out, a deep clean and perhaps a lick of paint, then it’ll be well worth the time and effort.

If there’s something complicated that is stopping your home from being saleable, then decide if you’ve got the cash or the inclination to get it sorted. If not, then it could be time to talk to your estate agent about lowering the asking price.

Meanwhile, mug up on some of our top tips for how to prepare your home ready for sale.