Property listings: how trends have changed the features we highlight
Mon 12 Sep 2022
Paul Bennett, Director
As St. John’s Wood estate agents, Behr & Butchoff has perfected the art of writing property listings. Whether they are to go on our own particulars or uploaded to online portals, we choose to highlight the features that we know buyers are looking for.
For all London estate agents, there is a Holy Grail of aspects that must be included on a property listing. For the Behr & Butchoff team, that includes the address, the price, the tenure, the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms and the EPC rating.
What changes from property-to-property are the fine details, such as unusual features and amenities. In St. John’s Wood, we may choose to highlight whether a property is listed, how close it is to Tube and train stations, and whether the property has been extended or remodelled.
The estate agents at Behr & Butchoff have watched property trends come and go, and while agents may have chosen to highlight a brand-new avocado-coloured bathroom suite in 1976, today’s interior fashion may prompt us to draw attention to Gaggenau appliances or a beautifully fitted dressing room.
Another property powerhouse that has been observing property listing trends is Rightmove. The portal has analysed data from the last decade to establish the property features that have fallen out of fashion, and crown those that are deemed hot property today.
Rightmove monitored the frequency at which certain features were used in listings. Over the last 10 years, the portion of property listings that mention a garden office has soared +1,046%, with the Behr & Butchoff team predicting much of that uplift happened in the last two years. Other aspects that appeared in property listings more frequently included bifold doors (+589%), orangery (+173%), underfloor heating (+114%), summer house (+90%) and open plan (+74%).
The latter point may explain why the term dining room has been disappearing from property listings, decreasing -28% over the last decade. Fitted wardrobes (-29%), greenhouse (-46%) and conservatory (-52%) have also fallen out of favour as aspects to mention.
When looking at the last 12 months exclusively, recent listings have reflected climate trends. Rightmove noted that between July 2021 and August 2022, the term ‘swimming pool’ increasingly appeared in property listings up +407%, with ceiling fans (+629%), shade (+405%), breeze (+255%) and north facing (+335%) also making the descriptive cut more often.
While the above trends may not surprise you, many are a direct result of readjusted priorities during the Covid pandemic and more recent heatwaves. The Behr & Butchoff team will always advise sellers in the St. John’s Wood area what buyers are currently looking for, based on the very personal relationships it forges with active purchasers.
“The property market does move at pace and even the changing of the seasons can shift search dynamics,” says Paul Bennett, the owner of estate agents Behr & Butchoff. “While in the summer months property buyers may have valued air conditioning and a swimming pool, we are already seeing priorities shift.”
Paul adds that attractive aspects moving forward will pertain to energy efficiency and sustainable living. “We may suggest to sellers that we highlight features such as electric vehicle car charging points, heat pumps, a good EPC rating, open fireplaces and wood burning stoves.”
If you are creating a shortlist of estate agents to sell a property in NW London, please contact Behr & Butchoff for a no-obligation valuation and marketing advice.