The average homebuyer spends just 21 minutes viewing a property before deciding to buy it, new research says.

People in general take an average of 217 minutes to pick a satellite, 284 minutes to decide upon a new television and 164 minutes to buy a coffee table. However it take  Britons actually less time deciding where they will live, a survey by mortgage provider ING Direct revealed. The average person looks around a home for only 21 minutes before they decide to buy it, according to ING Direct.Johan de Wit, chief executive of ING Direct, said: “At first it seems strange that people will spend such little time making one of the most important decisions of their lives, but regardless of the state of the market, buyers are feeling pressured into making snap purchases to avoid missing out on the home of their dreams.”

In a nutshell, the short supply of “good houses” is driving potential clients to rush their decision in order not to miss their dream house. Indeed according to the survey 44% of homeowners said somebody else would buy the house if they did not act quickly.

Buyers in East Anglia are the quickest decision makers, spending an average of just under 19 minutes looking around a property before they decide to purchase it, followed by those in the South East at 19.5 minutes.

Region Length of decision to buy the house (minutes):

East Anglia     18.87
South East      19.54
Wales             19.68
East Midlands   19.69
North East       19.88
North West      20.95
UK average    21.22
Scotland          21.59
South West      21.67
West Midlands   22.31
London             23.25
Yorkshire and Humber    23.54

Johan de Wit said: “Our research shows that it is the lack of supply of homes that is driving increases in house prices.”

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