Tuesday, November 28, 2017

What Do Homebuyers Want?

When you are preparing to put your house on the market, there are probably a few changes you need to make to your home. These will ensure that it is an attractive property to all the house hunters who are looking to buy somewhere new. And then someone will snap it up quickly at your asking price. There’ll be no need to reduce your price or sit on a property that doesn’t sell for months or even years.

Some things that you should do to your home are quite obvious - for instance, you should ensure that the house is clean and tidy whenever anyone comes around to view the property. But there are some things that aren’t quite as obvious. Want to know what homebuyers want from a new home? Read on to find out!


Private Parking

We all have cars now and some families even have more than one. So, a property needs to reflect this and offer private parking. Don’t worry; that doesn’t mean you should build a garage on the side of your house if you haven’t got one already. You could just add a driveway. You should be able to make a driveway yourself without hiring one to do so, which can help keep your costs down to a minimum. Just make sure that your home doesn’t just come with on-street parking, as this really isn’t as safe as private parking!

A Fitted Kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of the home for so many families. So, there is no wonder that a family will want a lot from the kitchen in a new home. And, at the very minimum, the expect to see a fitted kitchen. Fitted kitchens are currently very much on-trend as they come with plenty of storage and also provide space for important appliances, like dishwashers.


Modern Insulation

Homeowners always want to try and keep their bills down to a minimum as often as possible. Obviously, the best way to keep the utility bills down is to not use the utilities as much. If a home has modern insulation then it will stay warmer for longer and won’t let cold drafts into the property. Lots of home buyers know that insulation is key to keeping their energy bills down, so are more likely to jump at a property that features state of the art insulation as opposed to one that doesn’t. So, if you think that your loft could use some new insulation, for instance, then it’s really worth sorting this out before you put the house on the market.

Energy Efficient Features

As well as modern insulation, homebuyers want to see other energy efficient features in properties as well. One thing that lots of buyers look out for is smart thermostats, like the ones on offer from STELPRO. You can find out more about STELPRO by checking their website, but basically, their thermostats allow you to control your home’s heating better so that you don’t lose so much money on your energy bills. Basically, the more energy efficient features you can add to your home, the better. 


A Master Ensuite

Many people who are hunting for a house at the minute will definitely agree on one thing: you can never have too many bathrooms! And one bathroom that lots of people want to see in their new house is an ensuite in the master bedroom. This makes things easier for everyone in the mornings as there isn’t a big queue for the family bathroom. And it also means that there won’t be too many hold-ups when you have guests staying who also need to use the family bathroom. 

Open-Plan Living

Open-plan living is extremely fashionable right now, and lots of people aspire to own a house that features an open-plan kitchen-diner or kitchen-living space. One of the benefits of an open-plan space is that it helps the house feel a lot bigger and roomier than what it actually is. Plus, it gives properties a much more casual feel, and this is important as lots of homeowners are moving away from creating individual formal rooms with a specific purpose.


A Utility Room

Even though lots of families want large kitchens, they don’t want to fill these spacious rooms with too many appliances. Instead, they would rather keep their appliances, like washing machines and tumble dryers, very much out of the way in a completely separate utility room. A utility room lets you hide away all your functional fixtures and appliances so that you can keep stylish features in your kitchen and can, therefore, create a room that will really impress your visitors!

Exterior Lighting

You need to be able to prove to potential buyers that your property is super safe and secure. After all, no one wants to buy a house that could attract burglars and intruders! One thing that acts as a good deterrent is exterior lighting. Light fixtures on the outside of your home will light up your property during the evenings, which will put off thieves from trying to break in, as they will be very easy to spot. It also helps visitors walk up to the front door in the dark, as all the front garden paths will be illuminated. 


Hardwood Floors

Not many people want to move into a house that they have to start decorating straight away. So, when you are doing up your home and getting it ready to go on the market, you should think about decorating it in some timeless looks. You’ll find that your property attracts a lot more viewers as it will need hardly any work doing to it. Lots of people love hardwood floors as they are a timeless look in any home. Plus, they are a lot easier to keep clean than carpets! So, consider removing any carpet in your home and replacing with some wooden floorboards. People won’t be able to resist your property then!

Home Office

Did you know that more and more people are now working for themselves as freelancers or contractors? It’s true! And there are also more people choosing to carve a career for themselves as an entrepreneur and set up their own home business. So, it’s important to assume that whoever comes to view your property might spend some or most of their time working from home. It’s important that you cater for these homeworkers and set up a room that could be easily turned into a home office. You could, for instance, take out a bed in one of your spare rooms and replace it with a desk and bookcase. 


Smart Storage

These days, very few people want to fill their rooms with storage units like chests of drawers and closets. Instead, homebuyers want houses that have lots of smart storage features. Kitchens with hidden pantries are a great idea, for example. It’s also possible to hide storage in bedrooms by adding beds with drawers in their base. 

A Bathtub

You might think that with our busy lives these days, hardly anyone has time to soak in the tub anymore. But that isn’t really the case, and lots of homebuyers want to see a bathtub in their family bathroom. Even if they aren’t going to use it that much, it’s still a nice, traditional addition to the bath. Don’t have room for a bathtub and separate shower cubicle? No problem, you can simply place the shower over the tub. Just make sure that your main bathroom features both bath and shower!


Plenty Of Outlets

We all use so many different electrical devices and appliances in our homes these days - certainly a lot more than what we were using just a decade or so ago! And what do all these devices need? Plenty of power outlets so that we can use more than one device and appliance at once! It’s easy to add extra outlets to your rooms, you just need to hire an electrician to come and add some. This shouldn’t be too expensive.

Converted Basement

Do you have a basement in your house? Have you converted it so that it can be used as an extra room? If not, that is something that you need to prioritize before you put your property on the market. People want as many rooms and as much space in their homes as is possible. They don’t want a damp, old basement that is only good for storage. They want to be able to incorporate it into their house as an extra bedroom, games room, or cinema room. And if you have converted it for them already, that will be one less job for them. Your home will sell like hotcakes once you’ve converted the basement, that’s for sure!

Once you have added all of the above features to your home, you won’t have to wait too long to sell it. There should be lots of interest in your property, and some families might end up in a bidding war for it. That’s good news for you!

No comments:

Post a Comment