The surprising flaws that would turn off young Australians from buying a house

Fixable flaws like mould and insects are a bigger turnoff to young first-home buyers than permanent design faults.

Youthful property newcomers have revealed what really discourages them from putting down a deposit for a particular home.

Being on a main road and aircraft noise didn’t even rate a mention in a Finder survey of 1,028 people who had either recently bought their first home or were planning to.

Fixable flaws like mould and insects are a bigger turnoff to young first-home buyers than permanent design faults. Youthful property newcomers have revealed what really discourages them from putting down a deposit for a particular home. Pictured is a Sydney auction

Instead half, or 51 per cent, of first-home buyers would shun a house if it had mould.

A sizeable proportion would also be discouraged from snapping up a home if there were lots of insects, with 41 per cent citing this as a reason to reject a property.

A similar proportion, 38 per cent, nominated unpleasant smells like the odour of cigarette smoke and noisy neighbours as turnoffs.

This was a bigger concern for the young than permanent design faults like lack of natural light, which was a worry for 35 per cent of people.

Finder home loan expert Richard Whitten said younger home buyers could pay less by finding a good property with faults that could easily be fixed.

‘If you can think outside the box to remedy the issue, this could be a way to pick up a bargain property because demand might be low,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.

Issues like noisy neighbours or lack of natural light were also easily fixed.

‘You could reduce noise by installing soundproofing or install a skylight to improve natural light,’ Mr Whitten said. 

‘High fences or plants could also help with soundproofing or privacy.’

Instead half, or 51 per cent, of first-home buyers would shun a house if it had mould. Pictured is mould in a Melbourne house 

One in five youthful home buyers nominated untidy rooms (19 per cent) and the smell of pets (18 per cent).

An outdated interior was a turnoff for one in ten buyers, with 12 per cent nominating this problem.

With Sydney’s median house prices standing at $1.112million, first-home buyers need to look hard for bargains with property prices in March surging at the fastest pace since October 1988, CoreLogic data showed. 

A sizeable proportion would also be discouraged from snapping up a home if there were lots of insects, with 41 per cent citing this as a reason to reject a property. Pictured is a stock image of cockroaches