Are you looking to sell your house? You might want to update these features before you put it on the market.
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Retro wallpaper
Simon Pritchett from Ray White St. Heliers and Kohimarama said some clients have been turned off by retro wallpaper.
“One woman who bought a house from me initially didn’t look at it because she didn’t like the wallpaper,” Pritchett said.
“It was one feature wall in the living room and from seeing the images online, that was the one thing that put her off,” he said.
Colourful bathrooms
Many older homes feature outdated blue, orange, pink and green themed bathrooms.
A survey revealed that 75 per cent of UK homebuyers thought avocado-coloured bathroom suites were ugly, with 44 per cent of those potential buyers saying that they would be put off buying a property that had a green bathroom.
Patterned carpet
Just because you are obsessed with your bright, flowery carpet, doesn’t mean everyone else is.
The survey revealed a third of UK homebuyers (35 per cent) would think twice about purchasing a home that features heavily patterned carpet.
‘Cubicilised’ homes
Mr Pritchett said he had visited numerous stunning, architecturally designed homes from the late 1960s and early 1970s, but had found that people were turned off by them because they were “cubicilised”.
“These homes are gorgeous but they just have room upon room and a big long hallway.
“There is no connectivity and unfortunately people don’t want to live like that anymore. They have great style but the layout puts people off. In a lot of cases, if it doesn’t have fabulous bones, people just start all over again.”
What do people want?
“Fundamentally, property is very, very subjective,” Mr Pritchett said.
He said most homebuyers in 2017 want a space with longevity, leaning towards homes with large open-plan living, dining and entertainment areas with access to a reasonably sized lawn area.
However, when it comes to making changes before putting your home on the market, Mr Pritchett said you have to draw the line somewhere.
“Many times I’ve got a house ready for sale and the client decides they should repaint the whole interior or replace the carpet for a vast expense, but then a month later there will be a skip outside the house with the brand new carpet.”
