Buyers and Renter Wants

Here we share some interesting data on what your buyer or renter is looking for having spent the last few months in lockdown.

Latest Rightmove Survey

Buyer and renter priorities have changed over the lockdown period as evidenced in Righmove's most recent survey. Of the 4,000 households they surveyed:

There was commonality across buyers and renters alike, the number one priority remains access to a bigger garden, followed by wanting a bigger home.

The differences between buyer and renter needs then start to show, with the third priority for buyers being access to a parking space and for renters their third priority is living in a home which is pet friendly.

A better home workspace also ranks highly on the list - this is the 4th priority for buyers and a 6th priority for renters.

Here's the results of the Rightmove survey:

Image: Rightmove

Rightmove also surveyed what activities householders were focusing on since lockdown. Exercising at home has seen the greatest increase and gardening both indoors and outdoors are also included as growth areas for households. Rightmove has also surveyed householders plans for the future and an overwhelming 89% confirmed that they intend to focus on exercising outdoors, closely followed by gardening. These results are below:

Image: Rightmove

What do the experts say?

Rightmove has suggested that sellers should focus on making outdoor spaces as appealing as possible. Miles Shipside says:

"People are now re-evaluating what their must-haves are after ten weeks of staying at home.

“Usually home-movers tell us the kitchen photographs are the most important when they’re looking at a property advert, but now agents should consider giving greater prominence to pictures of gardens and outdoor spaces to attract the attention of prospective renters and buyers.

“To add to the photogenic garden appeal, a quick lick of paint on a fence, or a clear out of a shed to show how it could be a lovely summer house, can make all the difference when selling a lifestyle to a would-be buyer or tenant. Communal gardens sometimes get left out of rental listings but they should definitely be including them now too.”

Learn more about this survey, here.

London Evening Standard

So what does the above mean for city dwellers? The London Evening Standard has shared that first-time buyers and single professionals are at the top of the list of those trying to get on the housing ladder near to the main employment districts in London.

A London Estate Agent Perspective

Dexters has 70 branches across London. They have reported a threefold increase in the number of buyers looking for a London home, compared to the same period 12 months previously. This indicates that there is a limit to working from home.

Jeff Doble, chairman of Dexters says:

“These buyers believe there is a limit to working from home. They want to be able to cycle or walk to work, with limited time on public transport as we live in fear of further contagion.”

How does this impact you as a seller?

If you are thinking of selling and don’t have a large garden or large house, there's no need to worry. You can maximise the use of these spaces with staging so you draw in your target buyers.

We've got lots of tips on how to add value to your home including your outdoors in The Hub. However, if you're overwhelmed and don't really know where to start, we can help.

How does this impact you as a landlord?

If you are a landlord and looking to maximise your rental potential, it's important that your property is able to tick off as many of the items that renters are looking for as possible.