With the housing market firmly tipped in favour of buyers, sellers now have to go the extra mile to secure a sale. No matter how tasteful your interior decoration is, cosmetic defects on the exterior, so cheap and simple to correct, will make buyers run a mile.

Research undertaken by propertyfinder.com reveals that broken down vehicles and rubbish topped the poll of househunters’ bugbears. 76% of respondents ranked broken down vehicles as most likely to put them off. Rubbish came close behind with 75%.

Generally women are more likely to be put off by the poor appearance of a property than men. For them, matters of taste such as stone cladding are bigger turn-offs than for men.

Women are also much more likely to disapprove of sporting flags than men, perhaps concerned that the neighbourhood was overrun with lager louts. Men, on the other hand, have a greater eye for the garden than women and were much more put off by concreted car ports and unkempt gardens.

Wealthier households (income over £60k) were twice as likely to be put off by sporting flags and Christmas decorations as households with incomes under £30k.

Wealthier households were also much more likely to be put off by pebbledash and garden gnomes; around half of wealthier households ranked these ‘terrible’ or ‘hideous’ compared to less than a third of lower income households.

Jim Buckle, Managing Director of propertyfinder.com commented: "When people sell their homes, they usually focus on getting the interior looking good. But attracting a buyer is like going on a blind date; first impressions count and that means the exterior."

"It goes without saying that rubbish and rusting cars will put buyers off but too many people just don’t think about them."

Most councils will remove large items of rubbish for free, even cars; all it takes is a phone call. And it doesn’t take long to clear litter. There may not be much you can do about pebbledash (although painting it white can help), but make sure you do the easy things like mowing the lawn and taking down the sports flags. And a caravan does your home’s kerb appeal no favours at all. If you are selling your house, make sure you move it!

When asked how likely they would be to view a property a second time, respondents gave different answers. Only 8% would return to a view a home again that had a broken down vehicle outside. By contrast trivial matters of personal taste like garden gnomes do not bother the vast majority.

Jim Buckle explained: "Some factors influence people’s impressions of the overall area. For example, although rubbish is easy and cheap to clear, an area that tolerates it is one that most people would not want to inhabit."

"Other factors determine how much work would be required to bring the individual property up to scratch. A concreted front garden or unsightly cladding is expensive and disruptive to remove. Many people just do not want the hassle and would rather look elsewhere."