BRITS spending more time choosing a sofa than a new home.

That’s according to research from Zoopla which shows that the average buyer chooses to buy a home within less than 30 minutes of seeing it – the same time it takes to watch an episode of Coronation Street. Meanwhile 24 per cent of house hunters decide to buy a home within just 10 minutes of seeing it.

According to Zoopla, most buyers make a quick decision because they have done extensive research on the property online before viewing it.

Lawrence Hall, spokesman for Zoopla, said: “The process of buying a home is a hugely emotive one and while a quick decision can help secure a property in a fast-moving market, it’s essential to keep a strong head and do as much research online and with your local agent to help build knowledge prior to viewing and making an offer.”

Zoopla has researched the areas of the country where buyers take the longest and shortest times to make a decision on a property. The quickest region is the East Midlands were home buyers take just 25.9 minutes to decide to buy after viewing the property Buyers in the East of England, however, take the longest time to decide at 31.8 minutes. In London house hunters take 27 minutes to decide on buying a home after viewing it.

Across all regions house hunters spent more time researching the property online than deciding to buy it after viewing it in person. Buyers in Wales spent the longest time on online research at 83.2 minutes.

The average Brit takes three times longer to choose a sofa than a home, according to Zoopla’s research.