Zoe Williams reflects on the increasingly polished expectations placed on people selling homes, arguing that estate agents now want properties to appear almost uninhabited rather than realistically lived in. She contrasts today’s standards with earlier periods when minor mess or wear mattered less, and suggests this shift matters because it reveals how strongly presentation now shapes trust, desirability and perceived value in the housing market.

She recalls that in 2006 a hot market meant sellers could leave more visible signs of everyday life, while later slower conditions made cosmetic tidying more important. In her current sale, she says agents have advised removing toiletries, medication, toilet roll and even the dog bed, while bookshelves should look carefully arranged rather than overfilled. Williams presents these demands as part of the modern ideal of the “turnkey” home: a property buyers could move straight into, even if that means disguising the reality that a family, teenagers and pets actually live there.