When it comes to buying a home, a new report has revealed it is not always about the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and parking spots.
Where buyers spend their time has been revealed in a new report from digital inspection firm Little Hinges, which has released its inaugral white paper How People Actually Inspect Property.
Based on more than 12 million digital property inspections, the report delves into the spaces where potential buyers spend the most time, and the areas where they return to repeatedly.
“Property decisions are still being discussed as if inspections happen in a linear, 15-minute walkthrough,” Little Hinges CEO Josh Callaghan said.
“But the data shows people inspect homes the way they actually live in them – moving back and forth, re-entering key spaces, and spending time where value is being assessed.”
Little Hinges CEO Josh Callaghan. Picture: Supplied.
The research showed that living, kitchen and dining zones consistently attracted the longest engagement time and act as primary value anchors, while bedrooms and bathrooms functioned primarily as confirmation checkpoints rather than decision-making spaces.
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Kitchens were among the areas that recorded the most buyer engagement
Entrances, hallways and circulation areas received “disproportionately high attention”, suggesting that perceived quality is strongly influenced by flow, orientation and first impressions.
Garages, offices and outdoor areas are also emerging as meaningful differentiators, particularly in lifestyle-driven markets.
It was further revealed that engagement patterns varied by state, reflecting differences in housing stock, climate and buyer expectations.
Nationally, the research found that open plan living, kitchen and dining areas averaged 65.2 second per visit and 3.1 entries per user.
“This extended engagement reflects the fact that kitchens and primary living spaces are among the most costly and complex areas to modify, with fixed layouts, built-in cabinetry and integrated appliances,” the report said.
“As a result, buyers and renters use these rooms as primary reference points when judging whether a home will function day to day.
“When these spaces are combined into an open-plan layout, engagement increases further.”
Bedrooms were a key feature for NSW homehunters
By comparison, most other rooms record fewer that two entries per user on average.
“Viewers confirm they meet expectations, but behavioural patterns show these rooms usually operate as hygienefactor checkpoints, not primary value anchors,” the report noted.
“They are assessed quickly to confirm they meet expectations, rather than explored in depth.”
Bathrooms and laundries show even shorter engagement, recording average dwell times of 16.7 and 18.2 seconds per entry respectively.
“Together, this behaviour shows that bedrooms and bathrooms serve as baseline checkpoints in the inspection process: they must meet expectations, but they are not the spaces people rely on to interpret the rest of the home or refine their perception of value,” the report noted.
The research also revealed that one of the strongest and most practical behavioural signals emerged from spaces that are often treated as “background” in property storytelling: entrances, hallways and circulation paths.
“Hallways account for a substantial share of inspection time and record some of the highest re-entry rates in the dataset, accounting for 16 per cent of total inspection time, a higher share than any individual bedroom bathroom or utility space,” it said.
Outdoor areas were also an important feature
Entry points also served as a psychological “first impression”.
“Engagement at property entrances rises with property price, indicating that higher-value homes prompt more deliberate inspection at the point of entry,” the report said.
“In the $133,000–$660,000 tier, entrance dwell time averages 17.1 seconds per visit, with re-entry at 1.8 entries per user,” the report noted.
“In the $1.5 million-plus tier, entrance dwell increases to 25.9 seconds per visit and re-entry rises to 2.5 entries per user.
“This is not purely aesthetic. It is often tied to how the entrance connects to the rest of the home and whether the layout supports the experience people expect at that price point.”
Garages and offices were also emerging as “premium differentiators”.
“Garages and home offices attract sustained engagement in digital inspections, and this engagement becomes more pronounced as expectations increase,” the report said.
This epic garage is located on the Gold Coast
Outdoor areas are also attracting increased attention as property values rise, according to Little Hinges.
On a state level, Queensland homehunters are concentrating on open-plan living spaces, spending the least amount of time in standalone kitchens.
Open plan design is a hot with Queensland buyers
New South Wales buyers spend the most time evaluating bedrooms, bathrooms and circulation spaces.
“This behaviour reflects the prevalence of more compact or vertical housing, where buyers and renters use circulation spaces to assess layout efficiency privacy and separation between living and sleeping areas,” the report said.
Victorian buyers and renters had the longest dwell times in open plan kitchen, dining and living areas at 77.1 seconds per visit, well above the national average of 65.2 seconds.
Kitchens were important to Victorian buyers
In Western Australia, the clear standouts were kitchens and patios.
WA buyers had a particular focus on patios
“Behaviour reflects local expectations around lifestyle, housing typology, density and spatial priorities, reinforcing that perceived value is not universal but shaped by how people actually move through and assess homes within each market,” the report concluded.
“For agents, this data provides a clear framework for prioritisation.
“Instead of presenting every room equally, inspection behaviour shows which spaces anchor value perception and which operate as baseline qualifiers.
“Understanding where attention concentrates allows agents to guide presentation, staging and marketing emphasis toward the rooms that materially influence decision-making, pricing confidence and buyer or renter engagement in their local market.
“For developers, these patterns offer evidence-based direction on design and product mix. “Behavioural signals highlight where investment in layout, spatial relationships and functionality is most likely to be noticed and tested by the market.”
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