12 Reasons Your Rochdale House is Not Selling and How to Fix It

If you have had your house up for sale for some time and are struggling to sell your home, there are many possible reasons why it is not selling. Maybe you’ve received offers lower than your asking price, or you have had very little interest. Instead of getting frustrated about your house not selling and giving up on the idea of selling altogether, there could be a simple answer that could help you to finally sell your house.

The average time for a property to be on the market before selling in Manchester is 94 days, so don’t worry if your house is not selling after a month. The type of property will also influence how long it takes to sell your house, for example, semi-detached properties in Manchester take on average 82 days to sell, while flats average 134 days to sell.

If you are wondering what to do if your house is not selling, read through these possible reasons you are struggling to sell, along with our expert advice on what to do if your house is not selling:

1. Your asking price is too high

One of the most common reasons that you can’t sell a house quickly is because the seller sets the asking price too high. If you are selling through an estate agent, they should be able to recommend an asking price that will achieve a relatively quick, successful sale based on the current market. If you are in no hurry to sell, you can hold out for a higher asking price, but you may need to drop the asking price at some point to sell the property.

You can check websites such as Zoopla to see how much similar properties in Rochdale or Manchester have sold for recently. You might also want to do an estate agent comparison to see whether there much variance in their advised asking prices.

Currently, homes in Greater Manchester sell for an average of £250,000, which has risen steeply by 8.2% since the same period in 2024. With prices changing quickly and the property market flourishing, ensure your home is set at the right value to attract the maximum amount of buyers without underselling yourself.

2. Your home disappoints on viewings

When you have lived in your home for a long time, it can be difficult to view it from the eyes of a prospective buyer. Your choice of décor might not appeal to everyone, so you might want to consider redecorating with neutral colours.

The kerb appeal of your house is also very important, as the first impression of your property can be a deal breaker. Make sure that the outside of your property is tidy, removing any weeds from the pathway, mow the grass if you have some and tidy up anything that could be an eyesore.

If your home is cluttered this can also put people off your property. A cluttered home can give the impression that it is smaller than it actually is, so declutter as much as you can. This might mean having a clear out and taking some items to a charity shop or putting some furniture or toys into storage while you sell the property. Try to make sure each room is brightly lit and fix any small issues such as broken door handles or marks on walls.

3. Your listing doesn’t do it justice

People will use property portals and newspapers to search for their ideal home, and what they see in the listing will determine whether they book a viewing. If your listing does not do your house justice, there will be less interest in your property.

For example, if there are no floorplans, or the agent uses poor or no photos, this will negatively impact the amount of interest in your home. If the listing includes a poor description or does not convey the property potential (e.g. the possibility to extend) this could also be contributing to not being able to sell.

Using professional photographers and a home staging service will help make your house more appealing to potential buyers when they view the listing.

At the same time, make sure your estate agent provides a thoughtful, buyer-centred property description that is designed to attract attention – not a generic Chat GPT summary or listing out the bare statistics about the property.

For example:

1. Intro: Begin with a sharp, targeted summary of the property which sells its best points to the buyer immediately.
2. Location & amenities: Be sure to mention critical amenities and their distance from the property, especially local schools, transport links and stations, parks, commuting distances – and critically – anything that appeals to the typical buyer.
3. Interior of the home: Aside from the basic description and measurements, ensure the key features are noted (e.g.) freestanding fireplaces, converted loft, working from home space etc.
4. Exterior of the home: Likewise, ensure that outdoor features (relevant to most buyers) are noted, for example an outdoor office cabin, planning permission for the garden space, garages etc.
5. Extras that give the edge: Include any unique features: pools, basement gyms, home cinemas etc.

4. Your home is not on the main property portals

The more prospective buyers that see your property online, the more chance you will have of selling. If your home is not advertised on the main property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla, you are missing out on a large pool of buyers who could be interested in buying your house.

It is also important that your estate agent’s website ranks high on Google in your area so that more people find your property online. Again, the photos and description used on the website should be of good quality that entices people to want to view your home. Marketing from a high-street agent should usually include putting up a For Sale as soon as possible, as well as advertising your property in the agent’s window display and in local/national newspapers.

5. Your estate agent isn’t doing a good job

Choosing your estate agent is an important decision and could have a big impact on how long it takes to sell your house, as well as how much you can sell it for. A good estate agent will be able to provide advice on how to prepare your property to impress viewers and will be very effective at marketing to generate more viewings and can find the type of buyer who is more likely to put in an offer.

6. You’re in a long property chain

One of the reasons why your house house isn’t selling may be due to a long property chain. If you are part of a long property chain, this could be putting prospective buyers off, as they are worried it will fall through. If you are able to offer a chain-free sale, i.e. you move into a rented property before buying your new one, this can give buyers confidence that there will not be any issues that prevent the sale going through.

7. Your property is hard to mortgage

If your property is unusual in some way, this can make it more difficult for buyers to get a mortgage. For example, lenders may decline a mortgage for houses that are built from non-standard materials. Eco-homes or under-pinned properties can be difficult to get mortgages approved for.

8. Property survey issues put buyers off

If buyers commission a survey on your property and it turns up unexpected issues, this can make your home harder to sell. This may lead to buyers slashing their offer or asking for a discount. Even if it doesn’t, it will slow down the whole process significantly, for example, if buyers want to have (e.g.) damp specialists or engineers inspect the property further.

Previously unknown property problems can always happen. However, it’s good to get ahead of these issues wherever possible. If the concerns are minor, you may want to fix them yourself to make your house more sellable once they are discovered – especially if it’s just a fresh coat of paint that’s required. If major problems are found, you will need to decide whether to accept a discount, spend significant funds and time fixing the issue before the sale, or perhaps even withdrawing your home from the market until resolved.

If you know your home has structural problems before the sale, it’s best to get these sorted in advance so that they don’t slow down (or derail) your sale later. Don’t take the risk of assuming they won’t be discovered. Some of the most common issues affecting homes in Manchester and Rochdale are damp, structural issues and outdated electrics – largely due to the high number of Victorian and Edwardian terraces.

9. Off-putting leasehold terms & legislation

Leasehold properties come with more complications that freehold property. For starters, the length of time to sell will increase, as your conveyancer interacts with the freeholder and tries to get documentation from them. Equally, lease terms under 90 years can put off buyers from making the purchase at all.

However, there is another factor – the pending measures from the Leasehold Reform Bill. This bill passed through Parliament, and the measures are slowly being implemented over time. The more of these measures come into force, the more power and rights are given to the leaseholder. For example, there is talk of ground rent being abolished, more transparent service charges and cheaper leasehold enfranchisement.

This could be a factor leading buyers to hold off buying a leasehold home, knowing that the terms of the purchase are likely to improve significantly as the new rules come into force.

10. The current market conditions are making buyers cautious

The current housing market will also have a big impact on the sale of your property. If the housing market has slowed down, either nationally or locally in the Rochdale area, this will make buyers more cautious. Currently, mortgage rates have improved and the sales market is picking up according to data from Savills following an artificial drop in sales back in April, because of the Stamp Duty changes.

Your estate agent should be able to advise you on the market absorption rate, which is the numerical figure for how many months house sales are taking in your area. If the absorption rate is high, the local market is geared up for buyers rather than sellers.

11. It’s the wrong time of year to sell

There is an annual pattern that the property market follows, where house sales will always slow down at certain times of year. For example, not many people will be house hunting in the lead up to Christmas but then the market picks up again in at the beginning of the year, so this is a better time to sell. See when selling your home makes sense below:

• Spring – This is usually the best time to sell your home. Good weather, more daylight hours, and a fresh start post-January often encourages potential buyers to begin their searches for a new home in spring.
• Summer – It’s not a great idea to sell in summer, because many people – including conveyancers, estate agents and potential buyers – will likely be on holiday for some of it. Your home may sit on the market for longer or fail to attract any interest. This is especially true if you’re selling a family home, where your typical buyers are likely to be occupied with children and not have the time to begin the house search.
• Autumn – September and October can be a great time to sell. The evenings are relatively light, the temperatures are mild and your garden will be in its final flush of green before winter sets in.
  HOA data suggests it takes 62 days for sales to complete in autumn on average (measured over the last 7 years). Just be sure you’re able to complete quickly before the market slows down for Christmas.
• Winter – Putting your home on the market in winter is tough. Christmas is the obvious hurdle, with family commitments, school holidays, Bank Holidays, and money worries making this a difficult season to sell your home. From mid November onwards, it’s unwise to put your home on the market, and best to wait for January instead.

12. You’re accepting the wrong offers

If you have accepted offers in the past but they have fallen through, this could be down to accepting the wrong offers. Your estate agent should qualify buyers before they are able to submit an offer. This would usually involve checking that they have a mortgage in principle and will be able to go ahead with buying the house.

At the same time, buyers who are ‘too good’ may have a lot of leverage over the sale and the power to haggle down the price, this is especially true for first time buyers who aren’t relying on a sale of their own and have significant funds. An experienced estate agent will be able to pick up on the signs that indicate a good buyer for your property.

When you are struggling to sell your home, you can ask your estate agent for some feedback to see if they have any advice on why your home isn’t selling as quickly as you’d hoped. However, it may be that the estate agent is not providing you with a good enough service and it could be time to switch to a new estate agent.

We help house sellers in Rochdale, Milnrow and surrounding areas to overcome issues that are preventing a sale, so contact us today so that we can use our local market expertise to finally get that Sold sign up!

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