Monday, April 7, 2014

What buyers like and dislike - survey

According to a Survey published in the Daily Mail* abd conducted by a property website** among 2000 house-hunters, the following features are most frequently liked/disliked when viewing a property with the intention to buy:

Attractive features:

Fitted kitchen (36%)
Granite kitchen surfaces (31%)
Wooden floors (23%)
Wood burning stove (22%)
Concealed appliances (21รน°
Neutral colour scheme (20%)
American fridge-freezer (16%)
Aga range/cooker (18%)
Heated towel rails (16%)
Roll-top bath (15%)

Unattractive features

Woodchip wallpaper (39%)
Mirrored ceilings (36%)
Nude portraits (35%)
Avocado bathroom suites (31%)
Taxidermy (24%)
1880s DIY painte effects (rag olling etc) (20%)
Strip lighting (17%)
Artex ceilings (16%)
Themed rooms (12%)
Hot tub (11%)

What I found surprising about the results, and was confirmed by some of the reader comments, is that most of the features which are liked or disliked are primarily 'cosmetic' and could be changed or installed by the new owners (decoration, kitchen fitments etc) or might not even be left behind by the vendors (such as kitchen appliances). Also there is no reference to aspect, location, neighbours, state of the building fabric etc.

Some of the dislikes are regularly mentioned on French TV programmes such as Stephan Plaza's 'Recherche Apartment ou Maison' including stuffed animales, displays of fire-arms and virtually any extremes of decor, themes (Western, 1950s etc). The advice as always is to present a neutral, bland interior designed to appeal to the widest category of potential buyer.

On another note, I have just been reading a similar US Survey*** on what Americans like or dislike about (other people's bathrooms). There were over 170 reader comments, on burning issues such as when the loo seat should be left up or down or whether a (lidded or not) trash can should be installed.

Reading this article I think I learnt more about the American psyche than you could possibly learn from years of study.

Sources: *dailymail.co.uk  **needaProperty.com  ***apartmenttherapy.com