New-build homebuyers prioritise how their properties are perceived by others over anything else, according to new data.

Street views of new build developments receive nearly a third more views from potential buyers using digital showhome software than the actual properties being sold, indicating that kerb appeal is of greater importance to many buyers than the property itself. 

Communal areas receive 100% more views from potential buyers compared with private rooms, such as bedrooms and studies. Similarly, downstairs living areas received nearly three times the views of the rooms upstairs.  Living rooms and kitchens receive the most (49%) attention while, in comparison, the master bedroom is a priority to only 11%. 

The data, which was collated by award-winning British PropTech company, Pixel, comprises over £218 million worth of property sales from more than 100 developments marketed through the company’s digital HomeSelector and OptionSelector tools throughout 2021. 

The tools allow developers to showcase their developments digitally before they are built, giving potential buyers the opportunity to walk virtually through each property with and without furnishings, walk around the streets of the development, see birds-eye perspectives of plots and floorplans, compare and shortlist multiple properties, and click to reserve a house before they’ve had a chance to visit the site in person.

Cat Smith, Director at Pixel, says, “We knew intuitively that homebuyer behaviour is evolving, and quite rapidly, but to see it in black and white is really fascinating.  The context that a property will be built within is as important as the property itself to today’s buyers.  This is something that’s quite hard for developers to showcase with traditional showhomes. 

“The good thing about digital showhomes and option selectors is that they allow this, while also tying in with what people expect from a buying experience.  These days people want to be able to view, reserve and buy almost any item online.  But when it comes to the most important purchasing decision of your life, buying a home, you don’t traditionally get very much information about the property or its surroundings until the day you move in.”