Flooding the biggest turn-off for home buyers

By Terry Ryder, 22nd June 2010

Any hint of flooding issues is the biggest turnoff for home buyers, according to a poll which sought buyers’ views on factors likely to deter them from buying a property. Many buyers will also reject homes on busy roads. 

A poll by PRDnationwide shows 41% of home hunters believe a flood-prone property is the biggest deterrent in purchasing a home. 30% of respondents say they would be most deterred by position on a main road, while 16% would be turned off by a suburb’s poor reputation. 

Only small numbers of buyers are put off by the need for renovations (9%) or poor landscaping (4%).

“A flood-prone property is often cheaper than other houses in a suburb but can take a long time to sell as it is the most common deterrent in buying a home,” says PRDnationwide managing director Jim Midgley.  

PRDnationwide research director Aaron Maskrey says houses on main roads are often down-valued by buyers. “Traffic noise is a real turn-off for owner occupiers – but often these properties sell to investors,” he says. 

Maskrey says “location, location, location” mantra still holds true. “People are prepared to renovate or work in the garden to improve a property, but there’s not much you can do about main road noise or a rough neighbourhood,” he says. 

NOTE: Research shows that downmarket suburbs with “rough” reputations can provide exceptional capital growth. Affordability is the driving force in the home-buyer market and the cheaper suburbs usually show the highest long-term capital growth in most major cities, regardless of their bad reputations.

ENDS

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