According to a survey commissioned by Foxtons in conjunction with Matterport, over 72% of Britons know immediately if they will or will not buy a property when on a viewing.
Over a third of respondents knew within the first five minutes of viewing that they would not make an offer - the average is just eight minutes. And it seems that the majority of people will make a very quick decision when deciding to make an offer on a property too.
One in four homeowners surveyed said it was within the first five minutes that they knew they would make an offer on their current property, while for 23% of people, it took them just a few hours to decide that they wanted to buy.
We view a lot of properties online
When it comes to searching for a property, it seems that our behaviour is similar both on and offline, with 35% of respondents deciding within the first five minutes that they will go and view a property and 35% saying it takes them between six and ten minutes.
Only 2% of homeowners didn't view properties online before purchasing their current property.
The survey also found that the majority of homeowners looked at between one and 10 properties online before buying the property they currently live in, as well as physically viewing up to 10 properties. 82% of house-hunters also said that they didn’t buy the first property they visited.
First impressions definitely count
The survey also found that first impressions count both online and in person, as over 85% of house-hunters revealed that the immediate impression they get of a property will determine if they will buy it or not.
However, while plenty of guides – including our own – will tell you to tidy your home before viewings, the good news is that 80% of buyers will ignore mess when viewing a property. That said, we would still recommend picking up your dirty socks before buyers come round…
Nearly 70% of those surveyed find it easy to look past other people's belongings when viewing a property, which means decluttering your home before you put it on the market may not be as important as we initially thought.
A different way to view properties
While it seems that most house-hunters will strike a balance between the number of properties they view online and in person, what if there was an additional way to view properties?
Here at Foxtons, we’ve teamed up with 3D camera company Matterport to create 3D online tours of some of our best properties, allowing you to get a thorough view of a property from the comfort of your sofa.
Not only might this experience help you make a better decision as to whether you will view a property or not, but it may also reduce the need to go on that all-important second viewing with family and friends.
