Hello Christine, I’m wondering who your target market is? If you are advertising on here because you are hoping for Brits, it would be sensible for you to look at ads for properties at 425,000 euros in Dordogne and compare your own. Not least, I think your agent is doing you no favours with the photography. The French don’t seem to mind clothes dryers in the photo, but it’s not really the “French experience” for buyers from overseas. And there is a lot of choice at your sort of price.
It’s probably pricey for a French purchaser (who just go on euros/square m) and needs better atmospheric photos for someone from abroad.
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Thank you for taking the time to explain your thoughts – I do appreciate the feedback.
The outdoor space is something that could certainly be developed further, and the extension that was planned would also have added another bathroom. Our estate agent actually advised us not to do too much before selling, as many buyers prefer to adapt or redesign things to their own taste rather than paying for changes they might want to undo.
We lived in the house for nearly 20 years and always enjoyed the outdoor areas as they are, but of course different buyers will have different ideas about how they might want to use the space. The advantage is that the property can be moved into immediately while still leaving plenty of potential for improvements such as additional shaded areas, landscaping, or the extension.
The price also reflects the location in the Var, which remains a very sought-after part of Provence, as well as the additional building and the energy production features. Ultimately, the market will determine the right value, which is why we always encourage people to come and see the property in person and imagine what they might like to do with it.
You’re right about Brits’ attitude to buying houses, Sue.
We probably watched too many episodes of the House Doctor but we’ve always tried to think of ‘staging’ houses for sale.
For the garden, even a few colourful pot plants on the terrasse as you’re looking towards the house or as you go in would make a difference to Christine’s. It’s a shame the agent hasn’t advised on this.
Thank you for your comments. The clothes line is in the garage area. You may have noticed that the estate agent uses AI to show how the exact same area could be used (with a small kitchenette etc). As for plants, he did recommend this but we thought that some people might like them and others might not. However we will take this into consideration. Again we recommend that people come and visit the house.
The problem with that Christine is people won’t visit unless a property is appealing/attractive and your biggest competition among Brits who are looking for a property further south is Dordogne, which has lovely characterful properties.
I’m sure yours is a lovely functional home - which will appeal to the French, but not at that price and probably not that remote.
Re flower pots - yes, yes yes, No one who doesn’t like plants will buy your place - too much land. Bring colour and interest to your terrace. Easier in summer but without the covering, it just looks a bit sad.
Apologies if all this sounds negative, but like @Jennifer11 I love the idea of dressing houses, photographing them well, making them worth every penny of the purchase price. This is a much better developed business in the US/UK/Australia. Always worth looking at what the competition is doing.
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The house we have just sold was first advertised using the estate agents photos that were dire. She just didn’t get it and eventually after a while with no offers and few viewings we kicked up a fuss. We pointed her to another agent whose photos were great and luckily she knew him and brought him in, The change of photos, with a bit more “dressing” but without changing price made a huge difference.
To sell a house you need to entice people to visit it!
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And you could add a couple of parasols for colour and to make the terrasse look more inviting. Is the one in the photo 40 sq m? It doesn’t look that big to me.
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Thanks everyone for this discussion. It’s making me realise when we come to sell we are going to use someone who is a professional photographer/dresser and start the process early. We are coming into spring and our garden will look glorious in a few weeks - first prima donna will be the wisteria all the way along the west facing wall. It’s already in bud. Need to start the portfolio now!
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Are there house doctors in France, Sue?
Going back to Christine’s house, for attracting Brits and in house doctor-speak, I wonder if it’s been a bit too de-personalised. If you’re still living there but have possessions stored away, you could add a picture or two in the bedrooms to add some colour, some flowers here and there or a bowl of fruit in the kitchen.
I 100% agree with that, as long as this is reflected in the price. But small temporary fixes are different. The inside of the house is immaculate, unlike the outside. Cleaning the step out to the terrace, tidying up the front of the house that just looks shabby from the aerial photo and making the place look more welcoming when people do arrive can be critical. Can’t tell from photos but possibly also retreating the timber shutters,
i hope you are also pushing your agent to give you feedback from visits. Ours was very clear that price was not the issue but the size (huge) and the remote location were, which was just too remote for many.
(At the least I would get the agent to remove the aerial photo! It would really put me off considering a visit! )
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If you mean people who do homestaging, then yes.
We used to watch Stéphane Plaza’s programmes before we moved. He had at least three, and it was obvious that homestaging was beginning to become popular.
I did watch him, he isn’t bad. Is he on TV at the moment or is the court case ongoing?
I found a couple of national sites for home stagers but it does seem to be in its infancy. Some of them seem to be a bit hung up on beige and brown.
Convicted last year of violence conjugale.
You’re right about the technique. Get rid of all the bibelots and paint everything a shade of grey.
The house of our friend with the broadband would be a “before” photo, though to be fair SP tended to be called in by older people.
That wasn’t quite what I had in mind. You can declutter and dull down too much.
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My impression (having watched scores of the programme) was that SP’s approach wouldn’t help the OP, because most of the houses he and team updated were owned by people who had no idea how things had changed, and thought their furniture in chêne massive were a selling point.
My impression also is that home-stagers took a much more personalised approach.
Funnily enough I was going to say something similar.
But on checking it seems fairly consistent with similar properties in the area
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Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts – we do appreciate constructive feedback and are always happy to take helpful comments into consideration.
Some people have mentioned that the property looks remote. It may appear that way on aerial photos because the nearest neighbour is about 500 metres away and the house is surrounded by vineyards, fields and rolling hills, with a 9-hole golf course just across from the house beside the vineyard.
In reality it’s only about a 5-minute drive (around 20 minutes on foot) from a lively village of around 3,000 inhabitants with a surprisingly wide range of amenities: Lidl, Auchan and Intermarché, several excellent bakeries, grocery shops, restaurants and cafés, a cinema, a library, doctors, nurses and physiotherapists, a medical laboratory, a large pharmacy, DIY shops, sports facilities, a gym and sauna, a weekly Sunday market and free concerts on the village square throughout the summer.
So it’s really the best of both worlds: very peaceful and quiet — the house is about a 5-minute walk from the road — yet close to everything you might need.
The property tends to appeal to people who are looking to move to Provence and enjoy a calm setting, while still having the option of being in a lively village environment whenever they wish.
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I agree - even though I think it a little unfair. 425k€ goes quite a long way in the Dordogne.
Eg this one at 417k in/near Bergerac
https://www.seloger.com/annonces/achat/maison/bergerac-24/toutifaut/263183837.htm
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I suggested Dordogne because it’s still a favourite for Brits and I’m assuming that is the target audience, posting on here.
Absolutely - it’s a very valid place with which to compare prices.