Survey Reveals How Your Neighbours May Be Devaluing Your Home

When it comes to selling your home, homeowners typically do everything they can to make it as appealing as possible, whether that’s redecorating, weeding the garden, or ensuring that your house is as clean and tidy as possible when they have viewings.

But what you may not realise is that your neighbour’s home could be having a significant impact on the value of your home. That impact could be worth up to £130,000.

According to a survey carried out by Powertools2U, the ‘kerb appeal’ of your neighbour’s home can be just as important as that of the home that’s up for sale. Kerb appeal is the first impression that a potential buyer gets when they arrive at your home, and buyers are likely to look at the wider picture, not just the property they are there to view.

Based on the average price of a home in the UK, which is around £226,351, there are twelve neighbourly maintenance issues that can severely impact the perceived value of a house.

These include tasteless fixtures and furnishings, which can have a 4.4% impact, or around £10,000. Broken or boarded up windows have the greatest impact at 10.7%, or an enormous £24,220, while chipped or rotting windows and door frames can reduce the price by 4.2%, a monetary value of £9,507.

Interestingly, building work, which is usually to improve a property, devalues neighbouring properties by 4.7% or £10,638. Unsightly or over-imposing extensions have an impact of £7% or £15,845, while garishly coloured external buildings and fixtures come in at 4.8%, or £10,865.

Poor Maintenance Is A Common Issue

Basic maintenance issues also negatively impact the price that homeowners are likely to be offered. An overgrown garden is worth 4.4% or £9,959, while poorly maintained and overflowing gutters are judged at 3.6% or £8,149. Dirty brickwork or property frontage could reduce the price by 3.5%, or £7,922.

Rubbish or junk in front of a property are another problem that could cost homeowners 6.1%, or £13,807. Likewise, rundown vehicles could knock off 5.4% of the value, or £12,223.

In total, that’s a huge £138,185 from the average house value, or over half. In London, where house prices are higher, the impact is even greater at an enormous £383,082.

A survey carried out by Barclays Bank found that, on average, house hunters take just ten seconds to decide if they like a property based on the external appearance.

Over a third, or 35% will refuse to view a property internally if they are unimpressed with the outside, and 44% will offer 20% below the asking price as a result.

Craig Calder, Director of Barclays Mortgages said, “It’s fascinating to see the importance that the exterior of our homes can have. We would encourage all homeowners to think about their own property’s kerb appeal and understand that getting the small details right can be one solution that can really boost the financial value of your home.”

Sadly, for those looking to sell their property, there is little that they can do about the appearance of their neighbours’, and it can have a significant impact on neighbourly relations, with almost a third, or 31% of British people admitting that they have argued with their neighbours about one or more of these issues.