While personal preferences vary hugely in terms of what buyers are looking for, the number of rooms and the space available is often key. However, new research has revealed that the layout of your home is just as important. In fact, how your rooms connect to each other could have a dramatic impact on how much you can sell your house for.
The new survey was commissioned by Mira Showers, and questioned more than 1,000 UK homeowners and prospective buyers.
The surprising results revealed exactly what Britons are looking for in a bathroom when buying a new home.
The survey asked which renovations and features would entice buyers to pay above the asking price, and by how much.
But while you may think that a decent-sized bathroom that’s in good condition should be enough to attract any buyer, the shocking results found that the nation is a bit more fussy when it comes to the layout.
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Almost half (49 percent) of buyers said they would offer less on a property where the bathroom was only accessible via the kitchen, as is sometimes the case in older, terraced houses.
On average, they’d offer just over £7,000 less than the asking price if this was the case on a property they hoped to buy.
Shockingly, 18 percent of those surveyed said they’d offer a much lower price, knocking off between £10,001 and £20,000 from the asking price.
However, the good news is that 94 percent said they’d offer more on a property if it had an en suite bathroom – with an average bonus of nearly £4,000.
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But while Britons are clearly picky in finding a bathroom that meets their needs, they are also willing to renovate if it’s not quite right.
Matt Herbert-Sandell, Digital Communications Manager at Mira Showers, said: “We discovered the youngest buyers (16-24) are the most likely to renovate a property if the bathroom isn’t situated in their preferred place (48.05 percent).
“In fact, they’re over 10 percent more likely to do so than any other age group; only 37.41 percent of 25-34 year olds (the next closest age group) would plan to renovate rather than dismissing a property during their search.
“When looking at location, it’s those in the West Midlands who are most likely to renovate, rather than being put off buying a property.”
Unsurprisingly, the number of bathrooms in your home will also affect how much money buyers are willing to part with.
But they’d even go so far as to prefer more bathrooms than extra bedrooms, with a third saying they’d prefer this option.
On average they’d even offer £5170.88 above the asking price to upgrade to a house with more bathrooms.
Giving your bathroom a makeover could also increase your home’s value quite easily, according to the results.
Almost three in four said they would pay more for a property if its bathroom was modernised or refurbished very recently.
On average, they would offer an extra £3795.66, with Liverpool buyers being the most impressed by a new suite – saying they would consider offering a further £4177.28 on top of the asking prices.
So what should you be going for if your bathroom or ensuite has seen better days?
Interiors experts at Pavilion Broadway commented: “For small bathrooms, avoid loud, overpowering bright colours such as azure, cyan or scarlet.
“Instead, you could opt for soft blues, muted greys or lighter off-whites, which will match most bathroom suites and create a feeling of tranquillity.
“We think the trend [towards bright/loud prints in bathrooms] will date rather quickly, but it’s certainly popular at the moment. It’s worth considering that you have to look at your bathroom every day; it’s not just for Instagram!”