Could your estate agent’s outfit be putting off potential buyers?
It's not just about ensuring the house is well dressed according to new research

Choosing an estate agent when selling a house can be a tricky decision. But, the last thing you'd expect to factor into your decision would be how they dress.
Related: Have you been caught out by THIS cheeky estate agent trick?
However, according to research by the HomeOwners Alliance, how an estate agent dresses could put a potential buyer off.
As you can imagine, an estate agent in trainers and a scruffy shirt isn't going to go down well at a house viewing. However, information from a HomeOwners Alliance survey by comparison tool EstateAgent4Me revealed that 20 per cent of people would be put off at a viewing is an agent didn't look presentable.
'Your house is obviously the main thing on display when potential buyers arrive for a viewing. But according to the great British public the agents needs to look shipshape too,' Paula Higgins, CEO of the HomeOwners Alliance told BT.com.
'A substantial 20 per cent of respondents said if an agent didn't look presentable they'd steer clear,' Paula Higgins added.
However, on the flip side, the survey found that an overdressed estate agent could be just as off-putting for potential buyers viewing a house.
'At the other end of the spectrum are those agents who take presentable that little bit too far,' explains Paula Higgins.
'From expensive watches to gaudy cars, 19 per cent of people claimed looking too flashy was definitely off-putting.'
So if your potential estate agent greets you in a crumpled shirt or clambers out of an expensive car, it might be a sign they're not for you.
Instead, when choosing an estate agent when selling a house opt for one you are confident will turn up at a house viewing looking presentable but not too shiny and bling-y.
Would you be put off a house viewing by what the estate agent was wearing?
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Rebecca Knight has been the Deputy Editor on the Ideal Home Website since 2022. She graduated with a Masters degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London in 2018, before starting her journalism career as a staff writer on women's weekly magazines. She fell into the world of homes and interiors after joining the Ideal Home website team in 2019 as a Digital Writer. In 2020 she moved into position of Homes News Editor working across Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc, Real Homes, Gardeningetc and Ideal Home covering everything from the latest viral cleaning hack to the next big interior trend.
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