What is it that buyers are after when buying property? The features they might be looking for can depend on how much they are paying for the property, the size and location of the property and who it is that is buying the property, that is, whether the purchaser is an owner-occupier, investor or developer.
Size of the land
While an owner-occupier might want to buy a large block of land, especially if they have a family, renters are often put off by them. A bigger block means a lot more time and effort maintaining, which people are generally loathe to do when it is someone else’s property they are maintaining.
Simiilarly, investors often steer clear of the bigger blocks due to maintenance and upkeep issues and costs.
Developers on the other hand are often the ones very interested in the size of the block they are purchasing as it will dictate what the block can be turned into when they develop it.
Size of the house
As opposed to a bigger block of land, tenants often are keen to rent out bigger houses, more space makes for a more comfortable and organised living arrangement.
Likewise, owner-occupiers will generally try to buy the biggest house their budget can afford.
You might think investors are also after the biggest house they can find, but actually quite often they are hesitant on the bigger five-to-six bedroom houses as they can be notoriously difficult to rent out.
Developers are probably less interested in the actual size of the house on the land they are buying because they are probably going to knock it down anyway.
Period/Character style houses
Older style houses with plenty of soul and character can often catch the imagination of owner-occupiers and they can pay a high price to get them. They can fall in love with a turn-of-the-century house and pay a premium.
Renters on the other hand, seeing as they are living there on a temporary basis and won’t have the romantic attachment that the owner does, more often than not would rather brand new houses. They are obviously in great condition and have all the modern comforts such as air conditioning and dishwashers.
Investors are also concerned about buying older properties, the risk of expensive maintenance issues is much greater and an ever-present possibility.
They can also be a turn-off for developers, who want to pay bottom dollar for their development plans, and often get outbid by owner-occupiers who are in love with the character property and keen to pay a higher price to ensure they get it. Also, there is a higher incidence of these older style houses being heritage-protected from development plans.
Views
We all like to live in a property with beautiful views. Owner-occupiers definitely love to buy property with nice views, tenants like living in them too but aren’t always definitely going to pay more rent to do so. For this reason, investors aren’t as bothered if their property has a good view, seeing as they might not get more rent but will have to pay a higher price for it.
Developers are also often keen to buy property with great views, especially of the ocean, sea or CBD.
