A traditional picture postcard house with a nicely painted front door, four front facing windows and a front garden with a rose bush and a neatly mown lawn is the ideal home in the UK.
When it comes to selling a home quickly, the exterior is as important as inside, according to the research commissioned by TSB and Dulux.
Four bedrooms and extra space to build an extension and a decent drive are also important considerations, the survey found. Indeed, 60% would be instantly put off a property if they could see poor paintwork, a scratched front door and bad carpets.
Some 45% of respondents claimed to have been put off by a single feature of an otherwise perfect house. One respondent noted that blue floor lights in the kitchen convinced them not to buy, and another hated an ornate fish tank built into a chimney breast.
However, overall two thirds of people said they wouldn’t be put off by the interior decoration of a house, believing they can fix it themselves while 30% say they’d like their next home to have a modern interior compared to 18% who prefer a more traditional look.
While 46% say they’ll rigorously look into every detail of a home before putting down a deposit, a fifth say they’re happy not to look too closely as long as they get a good ‘vibe’ from the home after a visit and one in 10 believe a cursory look is all they need as they’re not interested in details.
When it comes to looking at houses, it’s not just those in the market for a move spending their time on property websites. More than half of the population, 56%, admit to browsing for properties despite having no plans to move.
The top reasons for this behaviour are to find out how much nearby houses cost, to keep up with market changes and to seek inspiration from how other people decorate their homes.
For those looking to sell, the most popular scent to entice buyers is freshly baked bread, followed by flowers and fresh laundry.
