Home buyers make snap purchase decisions, study finds

Research conducted by ME Bank found that more than half of Aussie house hunters spend just an hour inside the home they decide to purchase, less than the equivalent of watching an episode of Married at First Sight or cooking a roast.

The survey of 1,000 property owners revealed that 58 per cent spent less than 60 minutes checking out their eventual purchase.

Universal Buyers Agents director Darren Piper warned of the problems home buyers could face if they rushed into a purchase decision.

“After spending weeks or months scrolling through listings and inspecting homes, it is common for home buyers to get complacent once they think they have found ‘the one’.

“Unfortunately, this often leads to some oversights, which the buyers are then left to deal with after the deal has already been done.”

The survey found that more than a quarter, 26 per cent, discovered issues with their property after they had bought it.

In the group that identified problems, 36 per cent said they “fell in love” with the property and overlooked the faults, while 32 per cent said they lacked experience in inspecting the property.

Only 11 per cent stated they were simply impatient and tired of looking.

Many of the top post-purchase problems included paintwork, construction issues, fittings and gardens.

Mr Piper said that emotions can get in the way for many home buyers and that repeat visits are needed to avoid these complications.

“Home buyers are often signing the paperwork to their dream home with rose-coloured glasses on,” the director said.

“Once a buyer starts marking decisions with their hearts instead of their heads, that’s when they can pay too much for a property or overlook important issues.”

The survey found that 74 per cent spent money fixing, replacing or improving the identified issues and 41 per cent would have paid less for the property if they had discovered the problems earlier.

Of the group, only 23 per cent experienced buyer’s regret following the purchase.

Mr Piper’s advice to home buyers is to let the agents help so they can avoid these issues.