Estate agents used to talk about 'kerb appeal' and it was generally accepted that most people made a decision whether to buy or not within the first few minutes of seeing a home. Potential buyers using the internet first search by area and price but will then be attracted by what is shown in any photographs, which includes the outside appearance and views as well as the interiors.
"If you want to sell your house it needs internet appeal to help attract potential buyers," that is the view of Colin Kemp, managing director of Halifax Estate Agents. "The internet should be viewed as an extra shop window. The estate agent can come round, take pictures and put the marketing details together, but you still need to take time to make the property look good."
Last year 1.8 million homes in England and Wales changed hands, so people need to take every opportunity they can to improve their chances of standing out from the crowd. Although indications are that the number of transactions this year is down, the number of people putting their property up for sale has risen so far this year, reinforcing the shift from a sellers' to a buyers' market.
Colin Kemp continued: "Potential purchasers have a good choice of properties so it's important to get their attention – making your property details easily available via the web is a good start."
