The most common mistake made by home sellers is not cleaning and clutter-clearing their house or flat when potential buyers come to view their property.

And the most common failing among home buyers is an inability to see the potential of properties they visit, with a frequent lack of imagination “blinding them” to see beyond the mess or clutter.

Thus the biggest mistake home sellers make is the very one most buyers can’t cope with!

This is the majority view of Home Sale Network members - the country’s largest grouping of almost 740 hand picked independent estate agents.

Asked to identify the most common mistake made by home buyers, a third of Home Sale Network members (33.72%) stated a failure to see the potential of properties they visit, with buyers not being able to see beyond the vendors’ taste in décor, furniture, lifestyle, and garden layout.

A far bigger proportion of Home Sale Network members (74.12%) said that the most common mistake among home sellers is a failure to ensure that their house or flat is clean and clutter free when their estate agent arrives with potential purchasers.

According to Richard Tucker, Managing Director of Home Sale Network: “Putting these two findings together says that mess and clutter is probably one of the UK’s biggest killer of house sales.

“This new survey is important to vendors and buyers alike. It shows that the single factor that can boost home sales does not necessarily have anything to do with investing a lot of money in redecoration or garden makeovers – it is just about presenting a clean and clutter free home.”

The survey also revealed other common mistakes made by buyers and sellers:

• The second most common mistake made by buyers, according to almost a third (30.23%) of Home Sale Network members is that they arrange to visit too many properties, turning each visit into a “rush” and giving themselves the problem of remembering and comparing the properties they have seen.
• Buyers’ third biggest problem according to 17.5% of Network members, is a failure to produce a well considered list of their requirements – spanning location, proximity to facilities, accommodation needs, garden-size, and the amount of maintenance or decorative work they envisage doing.