If you're looking to sell your home this spring, now is the perfect time to give your property that much needed facelift before it hits the market.
Carpet retailer, Tapi.co.uk, has surveyed Brits to discover what home features they find the most attractive when house viewing and offer advice on how you can implement them into your home to best attract buyers.
The research found that the aspects Brits find most appealing when viewing a property, are:
Private outdoor space (52%)
New kitchen (51%)
New bathroom (42%)
Natural daylight (42%)
Clean and tidy home (28%)
Nicely decorated (26%)
Freshly painted walls (20%)
Neutral colours (19%)
New flooring (15%)
Modern appliances (12%)
52% of those surveyed find private outdoor space to be the most attractive feature when looking for a home to buy. If you’re not blessed with lots of private outdoor space, there are ways to make your space appear more private by adding fencing, hedges, trees, and tall flowers to the far-reaching areas – both optimising the space and maintaining an enclosed feel.
51% of those surveyed claimed a new kitchen was what they look for most when viewing a property, with new appliances (12%) also an attractive feature when viewing a property. A further 42% found a new bathroom to be the most appealing feature.
If you haven’t the funds to refurbish your entire kitchen or bathroom before you sell, there are still things you can do to give your space a well-needed touch-up. A fresh lick of paint will help spruce up the space, or you could add stick-on tiles to your kitchen or bathroom to help modernise it. Check for any rust or mould and ensure this is sorted before viewings too.
Natural daylight was fourth, with 42% claiming this is the most appealing factor to them when viewing a home. You can’t always control how much daylight your home receives, but with the right decorations, wall colours and flooring you can optimise the space and natural light. Try adding large mirrors to reflect daylight around the room, and choose light, breezy colours for the walls and flooring.
Finally, a feature that may seem obvious but shouldn’t be ignored, is ensuring your home is well presented, clean and tidy. 28% of survey participants agree that unnecessary mess and clutter turns is a turn-off, so ensure your home is tidy before opening it up for viewings.
26% of respondents claimed nice decorations are appealing when viewing a property, so be sure to invest in some lamps, curtains, side tables and ornaments, too. And although it may not be possible, 15% claimed new flooring makes a home most appealing to them, but if you can’t feasibly get new floors, a good rug can tie a room together nicely and really change the space. You can even create your own bespoke rug from your favourite carpet with a carpet whipping service.
In contrast, here are the top five ‘turn offs’ house buyers notice when viewing a property – so try rectifying these before viewings if you can:
A lot of work needs doing to the property (45%)
A lot of external noise pollution (43%)
Unsightly surroundings in eye view of the property (36%)
An old kitchen that needs replacing (28%)
Having to completely redecorate (22%)
Johanna Constantinou, brand and communications director at Tapi, comments: “with the surge of springtime property buyers just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start making changes in your home to ensure your property has the best chance possible when it comes to market. From new flooring to cleaning the space and modernising it, we hope our tips will help sellers make their home more attractive to buyers.”
