Party animals and noisy sex are biggest turn-offs, say buyers

A survey by estate agency group Haart estate found that more than half of house hunters are unwilling to live next door to a party house and 43 per cent would not put up with neighbours having loud sexual intercourse most nights – even if they were offered a significant discount on the purchase price to compensate.

Other noise pollutants considered far less offensive to potential buyers include train lines (32 per cent) and motorway traffic (31 per cent).

A third were unwilling to put up with dogs barking or cockerels crowing, and at the bottom of the list of nuisance noises were motorbikes or diesel van start-ups immediately out the front of the house every morning – only 26 per cent of those question said they wouldn’t move in to this type of property.

Women are more concerned by troublesome neighbours than men, with nearly two thirds (58 per cent) of female respondents opposed to living next to a party house, compared to 46 per cent of men.

The older generation are also particularly apprehensive, with 74 per cent of those aged 65 and over unwilling to put up with party animals next door.

Young adults aged 16-25 proved to be the least cautious, with 17 per cent happy to live next door to neighbours with a steamy love life most nights with no compensation required whatsoever.

Chief executive Paul Smith said: “We Brits are renowned for our prudent behaviour, and this survey highlights just how significant this mind-set is when it comes to buying a home.

“It is usually quite simple to scope out whether a property is affected by noise from nearby traffic, train lines or motorways, however, it’s not so easy to spot the livelier neighbours in just a handful of visits.

“Homebuyers should make sure they check out a property at different times of day and week if possible and – if you can brush the British bashfulness aside – speak to the neighbours and get their view of the street and area before you decide to buy.”