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Get on your bike to beat housing slump

Susannah Wright
10/ 7/2008

THE wheels may have come off as far as the housing market is concerned, but one couple decided to get on their bike when they failed to sell their £200,000 home.

Ged and Sam Matthews’ three-bedroomed terrace on Broseley Avenue, Didsbury had been on the market for seven months.

So armed with leaflets and balloons, the couple borrowed a special bicycle with hoardings to advertise the sale of their home.

They pedalled from their home and went up and down a stretch of Wilmslow Road, going into bars and shops and stopping people in the street to drum up interest in their house.

Sam, 31, said: "It wasn’t working selling it the normal way through an estate agent, and we thought we can’t just sit back and do nothing, so we decided to give this a go.

"Estate agents have so many houses to sell and we want ours to really make an impact so we’re going at it all out.

"We had quite a good response in just a few hours, with 14 people saying they were interested and telling us they thought it was a really unusual but effective way of approach."

Sam, who works for British Cycling - the national organisation which oversees the sport of cycling - borrowed the promotional recumbent bike through a colleague.

But as well as using an unusual pedal-power marketing ploy, she and Ged - an IT project manager - have a few other tricks up their sleeves. They have set up a website to showcase the house - www.7broseleyave.co.uk - and are holding an open viewing for potential purchasers.

Sam said: "We’re going to make a big song and dance about it and have wine and nibbles for people who want to come and have a look. People will have to let us know that they are genuinely interested though."

She added: "We’re going to throw in the costs of surveys, stamp duty and solicitors’ fees too, to make it an even better deal for whoever buys it."

Ged bought the house eight years ago and Sam moved in after the couple got together three years later. But they now want to move out so they can rent a place in Chorlton before deciding on their next step up the property ladder.

Sam said: "We’ve been doing all the usual stuff that experts say you should do, like redecorating and making everything neutral, but we reckon we’re just going the extra mile by actually selling it ourselves too."

For more information call Sam on 07932 467382 or go to www.7broseleyave.co.uk