Changing rooms star Anna Richardson launches high-speed 25 second TikTok house tours as homes selling faster than ever before

British homebuyers take an average of 25 seconds to decide whether a house is right for them, according to new research released today.

The new study, released in the wake of the hottest home market in a decade, reveals Brit’s minds are made up in seconds when it comes to house-hunting online with as many as a third (32%) making their judgement on a property listing in less than ten seconds.

The findings have given rise to a unique new initiative from the UK’s tech-led estate agent Purplebricks, who is trialling a world’s first – 25 second tours of new homes on TikTok.
The initiative comes following unprecedented demand and record sales in the housing market in 2021. Indeed, post-pandemic demand combined with the ‘race for space’ and stamp duty holidays have seen houses sell quicker than at any other time in the last 10 years.

When it comes to specific characteristics of a property, the leading factor in speeding up the decision-making process was the all-important location (77%), however almost half (47%) said the lead picture or thumbnail on an online listing could quickly put them off a property, and one in five (21%) said dated décor would speed them along to the next listing.

In the post-pandemic market, significantly over a quarter of homebuyers (28%) consider a small garden to be a top reason to quickly discount a property.

The research of 2,000 Brits by Purplebricks revealed that the kitchen (78%), lounge (60%) and bedrooms (55%) are the three most important rooms to consider when looking for a new home. The ability to add value is also key, as 70% of those surveyed said it was important for a property to have potential for renovations or improvements.

Over a third (36%) said that they would be swayed by a property if it were ‘social media ready’, and a property they’d be proud to show off on TikTok or Instagram.

The research suggests that snappy ‘gut’ decisions continue when it comes to viewing a property in person – over a quarter of those surveyed (26%) said that they would make a judgement on a property within seconds of entering the home. One in twenty (6%) admitted that they make their mind up as soon as they arrive outside the front door.

In contrast, research also reveals that Brits spend on average 3.7 minutes deciding what to watch on TV and 8 minutes to decide where to eat out for dinner. Meanwhile Brits can make their minds up whether someone is attractive in an average of 96 seconds.

Psychotherapist Lucy Beresford, who worked alongside Purplebricks to analyse the research, offered further insight as to why property buyers need less time to decide whether they like a property then they do to make mundane decisions such as what to have for dinner.

“The Purplebricks study confirms that gut feelings are key in the initial stages of selecting a property that is right for you. We are hard-wired to make gut decisions around our sense of security, which is why our bodies spring into action when looking for a home as this is the place we plan on building a future”.

In response to the findings, Britain’s leading technology-led estate agent Purplebricks is launching a new high-speed home sales brochure on short-form content platform TikTok.

The new home-selling service provides a 25 second virtual tour of properties highlighting all of the key features and rooms of the house in short bite-sized videos.

The offering comes as the majority of house-hunters (60%) admit that they would only view a property if its online listing has impressed them, and 2 in 5 (40%) said a short, digestible video would help them when shortlisting properties. The new service will no doubt be of great help to the next generation of property buyers, as 1 in 3 (36%) of those aged 25-34 said that they would look to social media for inspiration when buying a home.

Purplebricks is encouraging sellers to shoot the 25 second content themselves, which will then be showcased on the brand’s website and brand new TikTok channel. Current homes already listed on the service include a stylish penthouse in Wandsworth and a 5 bedroom former aircraft factory conversion spanning 12,689sqft.

Sellers interested in taking up the new initiative will be given a how-to guide to enable them to make the most effective TikTok videos. Anna Richardson is giving her top tips to sellers on how to create the perfect TikTok home sales pitch.

Anna Richardson said: “I’ve recently moved into a new property so I can definitely relate to that gut-feel emotion we all deal with when it comes to making those all-important decisions, however that gut-feel intuition can make the process of selling your home a little harder. There are so many things we can do to make our homes more enticing so I’ve teamed up with Purplebricks on their ‘How to Guide for 25 second tours’ – a useful guide that highlights how we can use apps like TikTok to get our houses sold”.

Ben Carter, Chief Marketing Officer, at Purplebricks said: “Following a year where we have seen the property market running hot and property sales moving faster than ever, we are launching 25 second high-speed house brochure tours to make the initial listings search quick, easy, and entertaining. We know that people are short on time and that wading through property listings can be stressful and all-consuming. We are launching our 25 -second virtual tours, to help home-hunters make one of the most special decisions of their lives, however it’s clear that buyers follow their hearts when they’re looking for a home and our advice is to listen to the head too. It’s really important that people take the time to think really carefully before they make the final commitment”.