What home buyers really want

According to a recent survey conducted by Aussie Home Loans, the most important consideration for home buyers when they come to choose a new property is a good neighborhood.

Neighbourhood was ranked by far the most highly valued criteria especially when it came to family buyers between the ages of 35-54 and to women in general.

According to Aussie general manager for marketing and product, Stuart Tucker, the survey yielded several surprises . "We undertook the survey feeling confident we would know the outcome, but were surprised to find some things were not as much of an issue for home buyers as we expected," he said.

According to Tucker, the 1000 participant survey 'smashed' several real estate myths. Modern kitchens came third with only 63.4% of respondents valuing them while modern bathrooms were far down the list at number seven with only 50.2% of respondents rating it a top priority.

Surprisingly, in second place, the humble garage had 63.7% rate it a top priority with men valuing properties with a garage only slightly higher than women.

Other desirable features in the top ten were storage, ensuite, outdoor entertaining and a light and airy atmosphere but each had less than 50% of respondents rating it very highly.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Aussie survey also asked property buyers what their biggest turn offs were. In first place for biggest turn off was cigarette smells with the younger generation of home buyers aged 25-35 finding it the most offensive (71.9%) Other big turn offs were properties located on a busy road and a dirty house.

Although real estate agents frequently warn vendors against pet smells, only 53% of respondents said they were a problem. Dated kitchens and bathrooms didn’t even make the top 10 as buyers said they were more likely to be put off by a property that was dark and dank.

With the real estate market kicking off this spring, knowing what buyers are looking for will help canny sellers get a real head start on the competition.

More good news for those planning to sell this season is that low interest rates mean the market is flooded with competitive home loan deals for those looking to refinance. Compare and find the best home loans to refinance.