What buyers want!

What makes a property saleable, desirable and, most importantly, valuable?

If you're thinking of selling your property, it's important to know what buyers want. Then you can make changes to try and make your property as saleable as possible.

This is also useful information if you're thinking about buying. Your top priority could be finding a house with apple trees in the garden. But if the property only has a small bathroom with no shower, other buyers may not be so keen. So if you want to buy a property that will be highly saleable in the future, you need to know what the majority of house hunters are looking for.

Here is a quick guide to ‘What Buyers Want':

Location, location, location

When it comes to choosing a property, location is generally the most important factor for buyers.

What you want out of that location varies depending on your where you are, and the type of buyer. Nationwide found that London buyers were willing to pay a £20,000 premium for a property close to an underground station for example, though this would not be replicated across the rest of the country.

Others are desperate for a bit of sea air - earlier this year Halifax put together a great guide to the most affordable seaside towns to buy, which you can read more about in The ten best seaside towns.

Then again, schools also play a big part. As we explained in Boost your property’s value by £20,000, an outstanding local primary school is so desirable that buyers may end up shelling out an extra £20,000!

Favourite features

Forget open fires and en-suite bathrooms -- what homebuyers really want is an eat-in kitchen, according to research a while back by Legal & General.

The home insurer found that a big kitchen, that has room for a kitchen table, topped the wish list for property hunters.

What tops the wish list for the dream home:

Rank	Feature	% that mention as most important
1	Big kitchen with room for a kitchen table	15%
2	Large garden	13%
= 3	En suite for the main bedroom	9%
= 3	Room for an extension / development	9%
5	Own drive	8%
6	Downstairs toilet	6%
7	Kitchen with a breakfast bar	4%
=8	A cellar I can convert	3%
=8	Living room with an open fire	3%
=10	Dining room	1%
=10	Attic	1%

A garden is also an extremely desirable feature, according to research from Halifax:

Feature	% of respondents stating they would live without this feature in order to secure a garden.
Utility Room	61%
Second Bathroom	56%
Garage	55%
Extra Bedroom	54%
Separate Dining Room	50%
Something Else	18%

Favourite types of properties

When I fancy a bit of ‘dream home' property fantasising, my favourite website to look at is The Property Organisation. Barn conversions, old schoolhouses and even castles... they're all there, just waiting for me to win the lottery and snap one up for £1.5m (what a bargain!).

However, I know I'm in the minority. The table below shows just how the various types of more traditional property have performed price-wise over the past decade.

Property type	Average Price Q2 2000	Average Price Q2 2010	10 year % Change
Terraced	£72,009	£151,403	110%
Semi-Detached	£81,706	£172196	111%
Detached	£148,047	£299,395	102%
Bungalows	£94,509	£197,379	108%
Flats & Maisonettes	£87,849	£158,692	81%

Source: Halifax

John Fitzsimons looks at how to work out what offer to make on a property.

Whatever your property type, ensure it looks its best by tidying up before your buyers arrive. According to research, 55% of potential buyers say they would find an untidy house a major turn-off.

The price of property

So what's your property worth? Researching where it is on the ‘dream home' spectrum may help you to figure out how desirable your property is to that elusive ‘average buyer', and consequently, what the price tag might be.

But it won't answer the most important question of all: what's it worth to you? At the end of the day, no matter what the research says, no matter even what the market says, you have to make up your own mind.

This is a lovemoney.com classic article, originally published in November 2011 and updated