What Draws a Buyer's Eye During a Viewing Revealed, Property Market Unaffected by Brexit, Plus More

Welcome to the July edition of the Town & Country newsletter.

This month, we reveal what drawers a buyer's eye during a viewing of your property, we look at why second steppers are turning to the bank of mum and dad, we investigate the effect Brexit has had on the property market and we share ten vital questions you must ask when viewing a property.

What Draws a Buyer's Eye During a Viewing?

Are you selling your home? Got a viewing coming up? Make sure you get rid of any clutter as it could be the downfall of a potential sale.

Anglian Home Improvements recently conducted some research using eye tracking technology to discover where buyers' eyes are drawn to when viewing a property. During this study, a variety of homebuyers wore eye-tracking glasses while viewing a home so that it could be determined what aspects of a home captured their focus.

According to the findings of the study, the largest concern for buyers and taking up 27% of the buyer's focus, was furnishings and décor, closely followed by clutter and mess, which attracted 24% of their focus during the viewing. Although the clutter and mess were not always mentioned when passing on feedback to the agent, it still caught their eye.

Perhaps the most surprising statistic from this study was that only 4% of the viewing time was spent on the property's layout.

The results also showed that personal items of the seller such as family photos often distracted the viewer from other aspects of the room.

It was also revealed that there were some differences depending on gender as men were more focused on the exterior of the home (32%) while women were more concerned about the interior (16%). It also seems that clutter and mess is less of an issue for men as they only spent 20% of their time focusing on it, while women averaged 28%.

Head of PR at Anglian Home Improvements, Melanie McDonald, said: “It was very interesting to learn that so little of the participant's behaviour was focused on the building and structural features, apart from the things that needed to be fixed.”

McDonald went on to say that “Although it is easy to forget to mend that broken light switch or socket, the fact that all the participants lingered on the badly installed light switch in the study just goes to show these little things are noticed during house viewings and will make the idea of them living in the property seem much further away.

“With nearly a fifth of the house hunters’ time spent looking out the window, one of the top tips from this experiment is to make sure the view from your windows is up to scratch.”

Even Second Steppers Rely on the Bank of Mum & Dad

 It was no surprise when it was reported numerous times over the last year that first time buyers were relying heavily on their parents to take that first step onto the ladder, but now there are reports that even those buying their second home are using the Bank of Mum and Dad to get them across the line.

According to a new report from Lloyds Bank, 32% of them need financial support from relatives to take their second step onto the property ladder. These buyers were either gifted or borrowed &21,131 on average.

It was also found that roughly half of the second steppers had previously been given just over &20,000 on average from relatives to get them across the line when buying their first home, with 41% of these buyers overpaying on their mortgage to increase their equity.

The research from Lloyds Bank determined that there was a &126,000 price gap between the average home for a first-time buyer and the ideal home for a second-time buyer. On average, second steppers will only have &105,068 equity in their first home, leaving a gap of just over &20,000.

The response from participants showed that just over a third (35%) of potential buyers can’t afford to move and almost a quarter of them (23%) having decided to delay having a family until they own their own home. It was also revealed that 13% of respondents had changed their careers in order to help with buying a second home.

Mortgage Director at Lloyds Bank, Andy Mason, spoke on the statistics from the report, he said “Parental support continues to play a vital role in helping young people to get on the property ladder. However, It is clear that despite improved conditions for this part of the housing market, second steppers will still rely on the Bank of Mum and Dad, with hard-pressed parents being once again called on for financial help.

“Without this extra financial support, second steppers believe that they wouldn’t be able to make the next move on the property ladder for some time.”

The Average House Price Has Risen by 3.35% Since Brexit Vote

 Despite the concerns of many in the run-up to the vote on whether the UK should leave the European Union, the property market remained steady and prices continued to increase following the Brexit decision.

Over the 12 months since the decision to leave the EU, recent research has found that the average price of a home in the UK has risen from &212,950 to &220,094, meaning a 3.35% increase in value.

There were predictions from some that Britain leaving the European Union could have disastrous effects on UK property values, there were even claims that prices could fall by 18%, which came from former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osbourne, forecasts that seem quite drastic a year later.

By region, it was the East Midlands that saw the largest growth with a 3.84% increase in value over the last year, closely followed by the West Midlands at 3.62%. The East of England (3.46%), the North West (2.92%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (2.92%) all made the top 5 of the highest growth by region.

Looking deeper into the some of the statistics, it was revealed that regions in which the majority voted ‘leave’ saw a larger increase in value than those who voted ‘remain’, with ‘leave’ voters seeing a rise in value of 2.27% (taking the average value to &195,957) over the past 12 months, while ‘remain’ voters only saw an increase 1.36% (taking the average value to &250,840) in the same period.

EMoov CEO, Russell Quirk, suggested that those who voted to remain in the EU resided in areas with much higher house price averages and these types of areas have seen slightly slower growth.

Quirk went on to say that “What it certainly does highlight is that there are still swathes of the market, even in London, where the UK property market remains immune to any external political uncertainty, and this should stand us in good stead as we exit the EU and with the recent general election in mind”

10 Vital Questions to Ask When Viewing a Property

 The process of buying a home can be a long and stressful one so when you do finally decide to put an offer on a house, you need to be certain that it’s the right house. How can you be sure you’ve found the right property? By taking your time when viewing a home and asking the right questions. You’d be surprised at some of the questions people forget to ask and end up regretting it months down the line when they discover something about the home that they don’t like.

To make sure that you find the property most suitable for you, we’ve compiled a list of 10 questions that are definitely worth asking when viewing a property.

How long has the property been on the market?
A great place to start as it can give you a good insight into the property immediately. If a property has been up for sale for nearly a year, you might want to think about why no one has picked it up so far. Houses that have been on the market for a long time aren't always a sign of something sinister, but knowing how long it has been on the market does give you a little more perspective and is a good starting point to any viewing.

How much interest has there been?
This is a good follow up question to the previous. Especially if you think you’ve found your dream home. If there have been a lot of viewings or even a couple of offers then you know straight away that you need to act quickly.

How long have the current owners been here?
When viewing a property, most people are thinking long-term and looking for a home they can see themselves in for years to come, so it’s worth finding out if the previous owners did just that. If there have been multiple owners in and out of the property over the last 5 years, then you need to think, why?

Have there been any recent repairs or renovations?
What you have to keep in mind when viewing a property is that you’re most likely viewing it in its cleanest and brightest state. The current owners are trying to sell this home and to do that they’ll do their best to wow you at every opportunity. Try not to simply glance at the rooms and move on, ask questions about the state of the home, have there been any repairs recently? Will the home need any repairs in the future? If you’re making an investment, you want to know

What’s included in the sale?
While you wouldn’t expect the seller to leave behind their 60 inch HD TV, some of the items in the home may be left behind. This mainly applies to the kitchen area and items such as cookers, washers, dryers. It’s best to ask what’s included with the home so you know what extra purchases you’ll need to make if you end up buying the home.

Can we test the plumbing and electrics?
Sellers may not make you aware of any electrical or plumbing issues so it would be best to check everything is in working order. Check the water pressure and try turning all of the lights on and off. This doesn’t mean that you should consider any faults with electrics and plumbing as deal breakers, but you need to know exactly what needs fixing.

What’s the neighbourhood like?
You can take a walk around the area yourself and get a feel for things, but a good agent should know the area pretty well and be able to give you more information. Ask about the local schools, shops and if there have been any major changes in the area recently. After all, you’re not just investing in the home, you’re also investing in the neighbourhood itself.

What transportation links do we have easy access to?
If you or members of your family need to use public transport, find out about the transport links. How far away are the train stations and bus stops? How frequently do they run in this area? If you’re going to be using public transport daily, you need to know if the commute from your new home is suitable.

How is traffic during rush hour?
For those of you that get around the city in a car, finding out how easy it would be to get from point A to point B during peak times could be quite important. If you need to drop the kids off at school and try and get to work before 9:00 am, it’s best to find out how much of a challenge that will be on a daily basis.

Can we book another viewing?
If you make it through the viewing and still feel positive, ask if you can come back again at a different time of day to see if you feel the same. Try visiting when it’s less bright when the property looks less like a show home or when the area is less quiet during rush hour and find out whether noise could be an issue.