The surprise house feature that could be putting buyers off your home

Those small details can make all the difference

If you are looking to sell your house quickly, it could be the small details that help shift your home or stall a sale. These are the features that buyers notice on a viewing.

Related: These new rules for viewing houses will make finding the perfect home Covid-safe

To help you get these small details right, comparethemarket.com has carried out an eye-tracking experiment across three different properties. Using eye-tracking hardware, they revealed the parts of the home that caught the attention of prospective buyers.

If you are looking to sell up, prepare these areas for a lot of scrutiny from potential buyers.

Features that buyers notice during a house viewing

1.Radiators

room with white wall and wooden floor and chair

(Image credit: Future PLC/David Parmiter)

The experiment found that buyers went straight for radiators when looking around a property to check they worked. If you have a viewing coming up, clean all your radiators. Turn on the heating to show that the heating system is in fine form.

2.Garden Access

As soon as buyers entered a room that backed onto a garden, their eyes were drawn through the window. Make sure viewers have access to the garden. Make sure it is nice and tidy and you have made the most of the space available.

3.Water pressure

washbasin with sliver colour tap

(Image credit: Future PLC/Holly Joliffe)

As soon as potential buyers set foot in a kitchen or bathroom they checked the taps to see what the water pressure was like. Before hosting any viewings check your water pressure is up to scratch.

4.Cupboard doors

In the kitchen, buyers were found to check the cupboards to see if they were well built and in good condition. Make sure yours are in good working order and kept tidy inside before any prospective buyers look around.

5.Bed Comfort

bedroom with teal wall colour and wooden shelves with stool

(Image credit: Future PLC)

The bed might not come with the house, but in a bedroom, the bed is likely to be the first thing to catch a buyers eye. Many buyers were seen in the experiment feeling or sitting on the bed to get a sense of the room.

Before a viewing make sure your bed is well made and cosy with plenty of throws and cushions.

Related: Looking to sell? This simple mistake is putting potential buyers off your home

Sometimes it's the small details that make all the difference.

Rebecca Knight
Deputy Editor, Digital

Rebecca Knight has been the Deputy Editor on the Ideal Home Website since 2022. She graduated with a Masters degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London in 2018, before starting her journalism career as a staff writer on women's weekly magazines. She fell into the world of homes and interiors after joining the Ideal Home website team in 2019 as a Digital Writer. In 2020 she moved into position of Homes News Editor working across Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc, Real Homes, Gardeningetc and Ideal Home covering everything from the latest viral cleaning hack to the next big interior trend.