People can see past the decor...... or can they

[Doggymummar]

https://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/aug/08/heatmaps-show-uk-homebuyers-look-most-at-artwork-and-furniture-before-making-decision?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

I see on a lot of posts when people are wondering why there property won't sell that they should add kerb appeal. Repaint more neutral, declutter, depersonalise etc and others suggesting people can see past it.

This makes interesting reading and goes someway to debunking that. I know I can't imagine how a place would look with my stuff in it. The move before last we bought the contents as we liked the person's style. It plays a massive part in the buying process, scientifically proven, tongue in cheek

People really are completely bonkers.

The things I’m interested in is the proportions of the room, the layout/flow, etc. I check boiler, water flow, attic/roof, windows & condensation, aspect. But my parents taught me that.

It’s just lifestyle selling for some though, same with other products eg cars so it’s more a case of can I see myself living here. I used to work in a fashion shop when younger and with clothes that were slow to sell you put them on the mannequin. So many would just buy the exact outfit.

It amazes me that people try out sofas and beds. I think the quick ‘this is it’ is reasonable though….I think you just know.

It just means are looking at them, not that they are basing their decision on a photo of the family! I would say it’s completely natural for your eyes to be drawn to a picture or photo.

And plenty of people are just nosy!

People might be looking at artwork and furniture on a house but that doesn't mean they are using those items to make their decision? Our eyes are naturally drawn to that sort of thing. Or thinking "that sofa is about the same size as mine" or "wonder if that's a double or a king bed, would mine fit" or similar.

I think we all persuade ourselves we are more rational than we are. Houses are an aspirational purchase and I think we are more likely to buy it if we feel the previous owners reflect something we aspire to or at least that we relate to.

There are of course people who will buy a hoarder shithole and totally redevelop but those are probably 0.1% of buyers.

It’s convenient if the house is not in need of decoration and you don’t have to paint over the lilac ceiling as soon as you get the keys ( although , we did). Very degraded or weird decoration, even furniture , can indicate that the seller won’t be easy to deal with, or there may be hidden problems in the house.(I’m looking at you Mr Sc.)

Basically, though it’s the floor plan , the location and that indefinable frisson which says ‘you could live happily here’, not the ‘live live laugh’ signs on the wall.

I'd say 'No shit Sherlock'!
I used to flip houses and I always furnished them, put a few nice wooden toys in the kids bedroom with a pretty dress hung over the wardrobe door, a lovely welcoming table setting in the kitchen, artwork on the walls, a bouquet of flowers... I wasn't fooling anyone that someone actually lived there but it sure did help sell. The furniture wasn't even particularly practical - white IKEA sofas for example. But it made the quite modest houses look fresh and cosy and the agent said so much easier to sell.
People really do not have the imagination. That third bedroom you turned into an office? If your market is families turn in back in to a bedroom otherwise they can't see how a bed would fit the space.
As for trying out the sofa - I do that. Not to see how comfortable they are but to get an idea what the room feels like sitting down, imagine myself there in the evening watching tv for example.

Both houses we bought were empty. One had lilac ceilings (it must have been a trend @Allthegoodnamesarechosen ...

It made it easier to see proportions and what needed to be done.

But I know when I browse on Right Move I'm looking at furnishings etc too...it is aspirational.

I don't like viewing empty houses and they often look more tired with the furniture removed, unless they've been freshly decorated/refloored. It wouldn't make me less likely to buy the house if it suited me otherwise though. And certainly not just as I didn't like the way it had been decorated/choice of furniture etc.

I can see how if there were 2 identical houses people would go for the one that was dressed more nicely though.

Cluttered and unclean properties put me off (asume there might be maintenance issues), but not bothered about dated kitchen/bathroom as long as it's reflected in the price.

To be fair if you look on rightmost and zoopla for previous sale brochures often decor can make houses look completely different!

Obviously saying "I don't want to buy the house because I don't like the sofa" is ridiculous...but completely looking past the material can be quite hard.

Some people don't recognise others when they have significant hair colour changes or lose/put on weight, i used to work with a girl who didn't realise I was the same person as the colleague with my exact face but who wore glasses (tbf she was a bit dopey)....some people really aren't good at imagining anything other than what is right in front of them!

Thank you so much for those tips. I have zero house decor sense and am struggling to sell. I refurbished and thought people would go for the new everything , uncluttered, just enough furniture look. But I see now I need to ‘warm it up ‘ a little . Going to realist after the summer.

Some people can see past other people's colours and clutter. Some can't.

It makes sense to declutter and make it more neutral. It'll be better for those who can't see through it, and those with vision can see their own colour scheme/clutter in an empty room anyway.

I don't mean remove everything and magnolia every wall - I mean just "tone it down" a bit, i.e. paint any really dark/heavily coloured feature walls, remove some of the clutter, etc.,

I think it can be quite difficult to imagine yourself in a place if the decor has a very strong slant to it - taxidermy collections, purple everything, that sort of thing. Or just clutter in general, so you can't get a feel for the dimensions of a room.

Our previous owners (we just bought a few months ago) bought the house in 2016, and I was able to track down the old house listing photos, they hadn't done a lick of decorating in the intervening years, it kind of blew my mind. We're now living with 90s swag curtains and manky old carpeting until we can get around to redecorating; there was a lot of basic maintenance they didn't do, so boring jobs like repainting the wood sash window frames etc comes first.

My own buyers were FTB and had an overlap between their rental and our completion, their plan was to redecorate loads of rooms before moving in. So they could clearly imagine the space done to their own tastes! We worked hard to keep things simple, uncluttered, and homey though.

Every time someone says 'people look past the clutter' I want to shake them. A lot of people really can't. It makes sense to clear the clutter for those who can't, it shouldn't affect those who are already good at envisioning how they want it to look.
Plus, it's the subliminal messages. Clutter = not enough storage = money yo buy or install. Dirty houses = uncared for = money fixing badly maintained things. Messy = distracted and unorganised = potential hold ups with paperwork. Too clinical = not homely = too hard ti imagine living here.

Everyone will have their cues and its your job, as the person selling, to give as many positive cues as possible.