Over half of Australian house hunters spend less than an hour inspecting a property, according to new research by ME Bank.
A recent survey of 1,000 property owners revealed that once they found their dream home, 55% spent hardly any time checking out the property they eventually bought, despite it being one of the biggest purchases of their lifetime.
Not surprisingly, COVID-19 reduced that time even further for buyers who made a purchase during the pandemic. Of that group, 65% said that restrictions impacted their ability to inspect and purchase their property.
The lack of inspection time led to around 61% of Australian homebuyers discovering issues with their property after moving in.
Around 40% of this group said they missed picking up issues because they ‘lacked the skill or experience in inspecting the property’ while 33% simply ‘fell in love with the property and overlooked them’, and 18% were ‘impatient and concerned by rising prices’.
Overall, the top post-purchase problems included construction quality, paintwork, gardens and fences, and fittings and chattels.
Among owners who identified issues:
– 84% spent money fixing, replacing or improving the issues identified, or have plans to do so; and
– 34% experienced a degree of ‘buyer’s regret’ following the purchase.
The survey also revealed that around a third of buyers failed to arrange a professional building and pest inspection.
Despite reservations, most of those who identified issues still reported they were happy with their decision. An overwhelming 94% said it was still worth buying the property despite the problems they discovered.
