What's Hot and What's Not to Homebuyers

PROPERTY HOT & NOTS What's hot and what's not to British homebuyers There are currently 5 million people in Britain who are looking to move onto the property ladder, along with 17 million people who are already on it. But what do buyers look for in a prospective home? THE PROPERTY MARKET Have we recovered from the property crash? Number of first-time buyers 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 The total number of first-time buyers in 2013 was the highest recorded since 2007. This was a rise of 22% from 2012, the strongest annual increase in more than a decade. The number of properties sold to first-time buyers per day in 2013 is an astonishing: 726 Homes HOME ESSENTIALS What buyers consider to be home essentials now 61% 53% 48% 54% Good broadband is more important than friendly neighbours Showers are preferred over baths 34% 23% 9% 10% Period features lose out to space for big TVs More buyers would rather have good mobile signal than working home security 52% 41% 68% 20% MILK More than double the amount of buyers think good local shops are more important than good local schools Most buyers would prefer a garden over a garage TOP FEATURES TURN-OFFS What buyers like to see in a prospective new home What puts buyers off a prospective new home A new boiler/ central heating system 1 Dark rooms/ poor natural light En-suite bathroom Damp/stained walls 2 Wood flooring No garden 4 3 Home office Bad smells A garage No parking 5 Open plan kitchen/diner 6 Bad DIY gocompare .com Sources: HOA, Halifax, The Guardian Online survey of 2,019 randomly selected British adults in February 2014 conducted by Vision Critical on behalf of Gocompare.com 192,300 196,600 198,600 000' 217,900 0009