Bad Taste Audit Reveals The Top Property Turn Offs.

LONDON, 4th April 2014: Woodchip wallpaper, mirrored ceilings and nude portraits have been revealed as the top decorative and ornamental faux pas that can reduce asking prices and put prospective purchasers off making an offer on a new property.

That’s the verdict of a compelling new study which reveals two thirds (67%) of prospective buyers would offer less than the asking price if a property possessed a lot of turn-offs. 38% would be put off making an offer altogether if a multitude of bad taste décor elements were present.

The survey of 2,000 prospective buyers by property website NeedaProperty.com also reveals that over half (52%) of prospective buyers admitted cosmetic details matter more than practical ones, meaning that now is the time for a home makeover for Brits putting their properties on the market.

Topping the list of decorating no-no’s was woodchip wallpaper with 39%, followed by mirrored ceilings with 36% and nude portraits close behind with 35%.  Also featuring in the top ten was 80’s favourite – the avocado bathroom suite (31%) and taxidermy, a turn-off for nearly a quarter of us (24%). Over one in 10 (11%) identify hot tubs as a big turn-off, with over half (51%) admitting that they’d be put off using someone else’s hot tub for fear of a germ infestation.

The survey also revealed that 61% of Brits admit that they judge others by the décor in their home – particularly bad news for most of us, who go an average of five years without lifting a single paintbrush or roller.

It’s also bad news for those with pampas grass outside, as the results reveal six in ten (62%) associate the presence of the 70’s ornamental flora with swingers – an urban myth which started in the 1970’s and is clearly still prevalent today.

Animal print or silk soft furnishings would suggest to 17% of respondents that the occupants had a voracious sexual appetite, whilst the presence of nude pictures of the owners would suggest to 45% that the owners of a house were sexually liberated, as would silk bedsheets (30%).   The survey also revealed that 70% of respondents would be ‘baffled by bidets’ –  admitting that finding a bidet in a home would leave them confused about what it’s actually used for.

When it comes to turn-ons, the results suggest 27% would pay more than the asking price for a house if it had a lot of turn-ons, and that men and women have distinct differences in what they look for when it comes to the home décor details.

24% of men get hot and bothered over houses with double garages – preferably filled with expensive sporting equipment – compared to just 14% of women, whilst a dressing room or walk-in-wardrobe was identified as a big plus point by 23% of women compared to just 10% of men. Women also covet roll top baths (20%) and neutral colour schemes (28%) more than men (11% and 16% respectively).

Wooden floors were equally important between the sexes (23%), as were wood burning stoves (22%).

The research also revealed that a red front door is the most attractive colour (13%), whilst a pink front door was chosen as the biggest turn-off with 26% of votes. A posh car in the driveway was also revealed as a big turn-on for 15%.

Scott Green, CEO of NeedaProperty.com, who commissioned the study, said: ‘Whether it’s selling your home or trying to impress your friends, the study shows that a good list of turn-ons being present in your home can only be a positive. We advise sellers to hide the nude portraits when viewers, and indeed friends, come over!” 

Here are the features voted the top turn-offs by prospective buyers, with the percentages of people who said they found them unattractive: