Heatmaps show UK homebuyers look most at artwork and furniture before making decision

A fifth of homebuyers spend less than 20 minutes looking at a home before deciding to make an offer, with viewers more likely to focus on artwork and furniture than structural features, research suggests.

The average time for looking around a property before settling on buying it was about 49 minutes, according to a survey of people who have attended viewings in the past five years.

With the latest data from Halifax released on Wednesday putting the average UK property price tag at £291,268, that equates to just under £6,000 a minute of deciding time.

Of the 2,000 people polled, 28% only visited a property once before putting in an offer, with the number of viewings averaging out at 2.1.

Impermanent, cosmetic features appear to draw just as much, if not more, attention than home essentials. A quarter of people admitted to looking at pictures of the family living in the property, while a similar proportion (24%) check out their home tech.

Nearly two-fifths (37%) admire their furniture and one in seven (14%) go as far as to peek into drawers and cabinets. One in eight (13%) test how comfortable the owner’s bed and sofa are, according to the poll carried out for property website Zoopla by Mortar Research in June.

That finding is backed up by separate research by Zoopla which used eye-tracking glasses to record what five homebuyers were really looking at while viewing a house.

Rather than structural, practical elements, the viewers were drawn to the ornamental aspects of a property: often items which would not be there when the prospective buyers moved in.

Mirrors, plants and pictures got more attention than flooring, walls and features, the heatmaps show.

Some of the most gazed at items were decorative, such as the paintings in the dining room and bedrooms, or the residents’ possessions including cosmetics or hand soaps.

In the hallway, more time was spent looking at the coat rack, rug and ornaments, than the ceiling, flooring, radiator and walls.

According to the survey, just half of prospective buyers checked the condition of the boiler in a new property. Fewer checked the water pressure (25%), wifi strength (24%), attic (23%) and cellar (19%).

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Damp can cause major, even dangerous issues further down the line, but 38% of buyers didn’t check for it, and 58% didn’t check for condensation. This is corroborated by the eye-tracking results in the bathroom and shower. The ceiling, which is most prone to damp and condensation, was looked at for the lowest proportion of time – just 0.34 seconds.

Daniel Copley, consumer expert at Zoopla, said it was important for homebuyers, about to embark on likely the most expensive purchase they will ever make, to be fully informed. “It’s crucial to inspect all elements, in order to save yourself time and money further down the line.”