One of the conversations I have most often with homeowners is about pricing.
It’s completely understandable. If you’re selling your home, adding “just another £10,000” to the asking price can feel like it’s worth a try. After all, you can always come down later… can’t you?
The reality is, in most cases, that approach ends up costing sellers both time and money.
As someone who lives and works here in North Devon, I spend every day speaking to buyers, carrying out viewings and seeing first-hand how people react when a new property comes to the market. What I’ve learnt over the years is that the first couple of weeks are incredibly important. That’s when your home gets the most attention, the most online views and the greatest number of enquiries.
If the price isn’t right, buyers simply move on.
Today’s buyers are well informed. Before they even book a viewing, they’ve usually compared your home with everything else that’s available locally. If they feel it’s overpriced, they’ll often wait to see if the price comes down rather than arranging a viewing.
That’s why I always encourage my clients to focus on achieving the best result, rather than simply the highest asking price.
Ironically, pricing correctly from day one is often what creates the strongest competition between buyers. More viewings usually lead to more interest, and more interest gives you a much stronger negotiating position.
I saw exactly that happen with a lovely three-bedroom link-detached home on Bramble Walk in Barnstaple. Because we positioned it realistically from the outset, it generated numerous viewings and an offer was accepted in just 20 days. Better still, the sellers were then able to secure the home they had already fallen in love with before bringing their own property to market. Having that certainty made the whole moving process far less stressful for them.
One of the things I love about working in North Devon is that demand for homes here remains incredibly healthy. Whether it’s families looking for more space, people relocating for a better lifestyle or buyers searching for a second home by the coast, there are always people wanting to make this part of the world home.
We have so much to offer – welcoming communities, fantastic schools, beautiful countryside, Exmoor National Park on our doorstep and, of course, one of the most stunning coastlines anywhere in the country.
That doesn’t mean every property will automatically achieve a premium price, though. Buyers still expect value, and they know the market better than ever.
For me, valuing a property isn’t about telling someone the highest number they want to hear. It’s about giving honest advice, backed by local knowledge and current market evidence, so you can make informed decisions and move forward with confidence.
If you’re thinking about selling in Barnstaple or anywhere across North Devon, I’d be more than happy to give you an honest opinion of what your home could achieve in today’s market – with no pressure and no sales pitch, just straightforward advice from someone who knows the local market well.
Category: Moving Advice
Working with a Fleckney Born-and-Bred Agent
If you’re thinking about buying or selling in Fleckney, there’s a question worth asking before you pick an agent: do they actually know the village, or do they just cover it?
I grew up in Fleckney. I spent the first twenty-five years of my life here, and for the past ten years I’ve built my career in estate agency focused on south Leicestershire, this village and the surrounding area. A few years ago, I moved back, and my wife and I made a deliberate choice to raise our family in the village we both know so well. That’s not a talking point I’ve picked up for marketing purposes. It’s simply where I’m from, and where I’ve chosen to stay.
The village most people get wrong
The thing that gets overlooked most often by agents who don’t know Fleckney is how well connected it actually is, while still feeling genuinely rural. Yes, it sits a little way off the bypass, but you’re looking at around a 20-minute drive to Market Harborough, Leicester city centre, and Oadby and Wigston are also within easy reach. You get all the benefits of village life, the quiet, the community, the sense of space, without the isolation that puts some buyers off villages altogether.
That combination is becoming more relevant than ever. Leicester City Council’s boundary is expanding, and Fleckney sits just outside it. I’m now seeing a noticeably wider pool of buyers considering the village, across every demographic, many of whom previously wouldn’t have looked beyond Wigston or Oadby. That boundary detail is exactly the kind of thing that only comes up if you’re speaking to people on the ground day to day, and it’s shifting how people think about the area.
A village with genuine variety
Fleckney’s property stock reflects its history. There are period homes throughout the village with real character and traditional features, alongside more contemporary properties for buyers who want something newer. Two recent developments, Freer Road and Burton Way, have also gone in, and importantly, they’ve been built in central locations rather than tucked away on the outskirts. That matters more than it might sound. It means new residents are woven into the village from day one, not living somewhere adjacent to it.
Life here, from a parent’s perspective
I’m not just telling you Fleckney is a great place to raise a family. I’m living it. My eldest daughter has just finished her foundation year at Fleckney Primary School, and my middle daughter starts in September. The school has been excellent, in the classroom, in the support it offers, and in the sense of community around it. When I talk to buyers with young families about what it’s actually like to settle here, I’m not repeating something I’ve read. I’m telling them what I see every week.
Local knowledge, put to work for you
I operate as a personal agent, which means every client I work with gets my direct, dedicated attention throughout their transaction, not a handover to someone else once the initial conversation is done. I’ll write more about exactly how that works, and why I chose to build my business this way, in a future post.
For now, if you’re weighing up a move to Fleckney, or thinking about selling here, and you’d like to know what it’s really like to work with someone who knows the village from the inside, get in touch. I’m always happy to talk it through.
Is Autumn a Good Time to Sell a House in Chester? (Autumn 2026)
If you’re thinking of selling this autumn, you’re probably asking yourself one question… Should I wait until spring?
It’s a question I’ve been asked a lot over the last few weeks. With mixed national headlines, mortgage rates edging upwards again and endless commentary about the housing market, it’s understandable that many homeowners are wondering whether autumn is the wrong time to sell.
Based on what I’m seeing across Chester and the surrounding villages, my answer is no. The market hasn’t stopped. It has simply become more selective.
Having spent more than 15 years selling homes across Chester and Cheshire, I know that national averages only ever tell half the story. Property has always been local, and what’s happening in London has very little bearing on what’s happening in Hoole, Handbridge, Tarporley or Tattenhall.
What I’m Seeing on the Ground
One phrase I keep hearing is:
“Nothing seems to be selling.”
That simply isn’t what I’m seeing.
Homes between £300,000 and £600,000 remain what I call the gold dust price bracket. These family homes continue to generate healthy viewing numbers and competitive offers, particularly when they’re presented well and priced sensibly from day one.
The biggest difference compared with a few years ago isn’t demand. It’s buyer confidence.
Today’s buyers want certainty. They are increasingly happy to pay more for a finished home than gamble on the unknown cost of renovating one.
Only a few years ago, buyers would often overlook a tired kitchen or dated bathroom because they could see the potential. Today, many won’t.
With labour costs and building materials still significantly more expensive than they were a few years ago, people are thinking much harder before taking on a project.
That doesn’t mean renovation homes won’t sell. It simply means pricing needs to reflect today’s market rather than yesterday’s.
A Chester Trend I’ve Noticed Recently
One interesting trend I’ve noticed over recent months is buyers widening their search beyond Chester itself.
Villages such as Tarvin, Farndon, Tattenhall, Christleton and Guilden Sutton continue to attract strong interest from buyers looking for more space while remaining within around 20 minutes of the city centre.
I’m also continuing to deal with enquiries from buyers relocating from London, the South East and even overseas. This week alone I spoke with a buyer returning from the United Arab Emirates who specifically wanted to buy in the Chester area.
That tells me confidence in this part of Cheshire remains remarkably strong.
One Recent Example
A good example of today’s market involved a four-bedroom family home that had been on the market with another agent for more than three months.
The owners understandably felt the market had gone quiet. In reality, the issue wasn’t the market. It was the way the property had been positioned.
After reviewing the pricing strategy, refreshing the marketing and relaunching the property with stronger photography and video, we generated renewed interest almost immediately and agreed a sale shortly afterwards.
For me, it reinforced something I tell sellers almost every week:
The right buyers are still out there – but they need a compelling reason to view your home.
Three Things I’d Tell Anyone Selling in Chester This Autumn
1. Don’t “test the market”
Your first couple of weeks are when your property receives the most attention. Launching too high rarely creates a bidding war. More often, it creates a stale listing.
2. Buyers are paying for certainty
If your home is well presented and ready to move into, don’t underestimate how much buyers value that today. The premium for a finished home is growing.
3. Ignore national headlines
The property market has never been one market. It’s thousands of local markets.
The conversations I’m having in Hoole are very different from those happening in central London. That’s why local advice always beats national averages.
My Own Business Numbers
Rather than relying on national property portals, I prefer looking at what’s happening within my own business.
Over the last 12 months, my clients have achieved an average of 98.7% of their asking price, with an average time to agree a sale of just over 33 days.
Those figures come from properties I’ve personally marketed and negotiated across Chester and the surrounding villages.
As both an estate agent and an active property investor, I also understand the decisions buyers are making because I make many of them myself.
So, Is Autumn a Good Time to Sell in Chester?
Yes.
But it isn’t the market we had two or three years ago.
Homes that are presented well, priced realistically and marketed properly continue to sell. Those relying on optimistic pricing or hoping buyers will overlook obvious shortcomings are finding the process much more difficult.
In my experience, success today isn’t about waiting for the “perfect” market. It’s about having the right strategy for the market we’re actually in.
Wondering What Your Chester Home Could Achieve This Autumn?
If you’re thinking about selling in Chester, Hoole, Handbridge, Tattenhall, Tarvin, Christleton, Farndon or any of the surrounding villages, I’d be happy to give you an honest, evidence-based opinion.
Every valuation I carry out is based on what buyers are actually doing today – not national averages or automated estimates.
Sometimes that’s exactly what people want to hear. Sometimes it isn’t.
But it’s always the advice I’d give if it were my own home.
Why Isn’t My House Selling in Chester? (Autumn 2026)
If your home has been on the market for months without an offer, you’re probably asking yourself one question…
Is it the market—or is it my house?
It’s one of the hardest conversations I have with homeowners, because after weeks or even months of viewings, it’s easy to assume buyers simply aren’t out there anymore. In reality, that’s rarely what I’m seeing.
Having spent more than 15 years selling homes across Chester and Cheshire, I can confidently say buyers are still very active. They’re just making decisions differently than they did a few years ago.
The good news?
Most homes aren’t failing to sell because they’re “bad” properties.
They’re usually suffering from one—or sometimes a combination—of a handful of issues that can often be fixed.
The market isn’t broken. Buyers have become more selective.
One of the biggest misconceptions this year is that the property market has ground to a halt. It hasn’t. I’m still agreeing sales across Chester and the surrounding villages, and I’m still speaking to buyers every day who are actively looking to move. The difference is that buyers now have more choice, they’re taking longer to make decisions, and they’re much less willing to compromise. If they walk into a property and immediately start adding up the cost of a new kitchen, bathroom, windows and flooring, many simply move on to the next viewing. That’s not because they’re lazy. It’s because renovation costs remain high, and people don’t want the uncertainty.
The first two weeks matter more than the next two months.
This is probably the biggest mistake I see. Some sellers believe they should “test the market” with a higher asking price because they can always reduce it later. Personally, I think that’s one of the most expensive mistakes you can make. Your property gets the most attention when it’s brand new to the market. That’s when every buyer who’s been waiting for something like yours receives an alert. If your home is overpriced during that period, many buyers won’t even book a viewing. By the time you reduce the price, you’ve lost the momentum that only comes once.
Marketing is no longer just putting a house on Rightmove.
The days of uploading a handful of photos and waiting for the phone to ring are long gone. Today’s buyers scroll quickly. If your photography doesn’t stop them, they’ll never read the description. If your first image isn’t strong enough, they may never click. This is exactly why I invest heavily in professional photography, cinematic video, drone footage where appropriate and tailored marketing for every home I represent. Presentation doesn’t just influence how many people enquire. It influences what they’re prepared to pay.
Every home has a buyer—but not every strategy finds them.
One recent homeowner came to me after their property had been sitting on the market for several months.
Their first reaction was understandable:
“It’s just a difficult market.”
After looking more closely, I didn’t think the market was the biggest issue. The photography wasn’t showing the home’s strongest features. The pricing strategy wasn’t attracting the right audience.
The overall presentation wasn’t reflecting the quality of the property.After refreshing the marketing, repositioning the launch and creating renewed interest, the property quickly began generating serious enquiries again.
That experience reinforced something I tell clients all the time:
The right buyer is often already out there. The challenge is making sure they don’t scroll past your home.
Three questions every seller should ask themselves.
1. Would I click on my own property?
Look honestly at your first photograph.
Does it make you stop scrolling?
Or does it look like every other listing?
2. Am I priced for today’s market?
Not last year’s.
Not what the neighbour achieved.
Today’s.
3. Have I chosen an agent—or a marketing strategy?
There’s a difference.
The person selling your home isn’t just valuing it.
They’re responsible for how it’s presented, how it’s negotiated and ultimately what you walk away with.
What I’m seeing across Chester
One trend I’ve noticed recently is that buyers are becoming increasingly location-specific. Villages such as Tarvin, Farndon, Christleton and Tattenhall continue attracting buyers looking for more space while remaining within easy reach of Chester. At the same time, homes close to sought-after schools and within walking distance of amenities continue to outperform similar properties in less convenient locations. Local knowledge matters because buyers don’t search Cheshire as one market. They search street by street. Village by village. School catchment by school catchment.
My own experience
Having spent more than 15 years selling homes across Chester and Cheshire, I’ve negotiated hundreds of property sales and transactions ranging from first homes through to properties worth well over £1 million.
Over the last 12 months, my clients have achieved an average of 98.7% of their asking price, with an average time to agree a sale of just over 33 days. Those aren’t national statistics. They’re taken directly from my own business. So, why isn’t your house selling? In my experience, it’s rarely because there are no buyers.
More often, it’s because one of four things needs to change.
- The pricing.
- The presentation.
- The marketing.
- The strategy.
Get those right, and the market often looks very different.
Wondering why your Chester home isn’t attracting offers?
If your property is in Chester, Hoole, Handbridge, Christleton, Tarvin, Tattenhall, Farndon or the surrounding villages, and you’d like an honest second opinion, I’d be happy to help.
Sometimes the answer is a price adjustment.
Sometimes it isn’t.
Either way, I’ll tell you exactly what I’d do if it were my own property.