We all love looking at houses online – but we wanted to know what is the first thing you look for when you’re searching for a property.

We asked our favourite property experts – ASPC’s social media following – to let us know what they turn to first when searching for property on their computer and on the app.

Looking at photos

It will come as no surprise that the majority of people turn to the pictures first when looking at a property, with a whopping 82% of those we surveyed on Twitter saying that their eyes are drawn straight to the photos.

Of course, we could already tell this, from all the wonderful photos we’ve seen you all share!

This means that it’s important for sellers and solicitors to make sure photos are included that show all rooms of the property at its best.

In a previous blog, Gary Small of First Photographics provided his top tips for prepping your home for a photographer – with one of his key points being to declutter rooms.

Checking out the floor plan

Cherie Munro and Pamela White were among our Facebook fans who prefer to look at the floorplans first when on the ASPC website.

And they are not alone – 11% of those we surveyed on Twitter also click on the floorplan straight away.

Floorplans are especially useful if you are looking for specific room size, or want to see where rooms are in relation to each other – for example, if you are searching for a downstairs bedroom, an en-suite or just a room you can convert to an office.

Reading the description

Where better to find information about a house than the description?

Facebook user David Edgar is among those who think that an informative description is key when it comes to looking at properties – but only 5% of those who we surveyed on Twitter agreed that it is the first thing they look at.

Our learning from this is to make sure that descriptions are concise, and contain information which may be useful to viewers at a glance – is it near a school, other facilities or have a fantastic view? Make sure to call this out early to attract immediate attention.

Downloading the home report

It is, of course, important to look at a home report before viewing a house in person – especially as it can give you an idea of questions to ask the seller or solicitor.

However, we were a little surprised that 2% of those questioned in our Twitter poll turn to the home report before anything else. Of course, the home report does contain everything mentioned above – it has pictures, a floor plan and a description of the property all in one place, so maybe it is an effective way to discover a property if you are interested.

No matter what you turn to first, it’s important to find your dream property. Take a look at what is currently for sale on ASPC.