I’ve been trying to sell my late dad’s home for a year – but we’ve had no offers

Louise Watson-Dowell put her late father’s home on the market in spring 2023. From then until the following spring, there had been just two viewings, and no offers placed. The 37-year-old says the two-bed mobile home, based in a retirement park in Selby, North Yorkshire, has struggled to attract potential buyers, because of the slow property market. The asking price is around £220,000, which is slightly less than her father bought it for in 2022. However, because of the type of property it is, buyers can’t get a mortgage for it, and so they need cash. “Potential buyers are generally retirees looking to downsize. People are struggling to sell their own homes, and they need to do that first, if they want to think about buying this one,” says Louise (speaking in spring 2024), who works in public relations.

'I don't want to make a loss'

Despite the lack of success, Louise is not keen to knock large amounts off the asking price. “I don’t want to have the loss on the property, but I would consider dropping the price by £10,000 or £20,000. Even if I did do that, there’s nobody really to buy it at the moment, I’d have to knock an enormous amount off,” she says. The property is costing her and her husband around £500 per month in site fees and council tax, but because it’s a retirement home, they cannot move into it. They also are not allowed to sublet the property either, due to the terms of the contract for the park, leaving them in a difficult situation. (Photo: sqback/Getty)

A slow property market

“We live an hour away and we’re being forced to go back to turn on the radiators, check they haven’t frozen. The only option is, I am allowed to move it from its current park, but I don’t know where I would take it,” she adds. “It’s a lovely home, it’s not like some of the other static homes you see – it’s essentially a bungalow,” she adds. Louise and her husband are one of many households that are struggling to sell properties because of the slow property market. (Photo: Rebekah Downes/PA)

Interest rates and effect on house prices

According to the Office for National Statistics, UK house prices decreased by 1.4 per cent between December 2022 and 2023. Transaction numbers were also lower in 2024 than the year before. Government figures suggest that, when seasonally adjusted, the number of UK residential transactions in February 2024 was 82,940, 6 per cent lower than February 2023, though slightly higher than in January. One of the reasons for price falls has been higher interest rates. This limits what people can borrow in mortgages. (Photo: Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg)

The coming months

Although this does not directly affect those looking to buy the home Louise is selling, it does have a knock-on effect, because it impacts those who cannot sell their own home to potential buyers, limiting their own cash buying power. So what does Louise hope for in the coming months? “I’m really hoping we can generate some more interest in the next six months or so really,” she says. “We’ve also talked about other options. We could look at the park buying it back but they will likely do so at a far lower value than you paid for it. They’re also struggling to sell their own homes too,” she adds. (Photo: Oleksandra Yagello/Getty)