Britons quick to fall in love with property

A survey by My Home Move, has discovered that we are a nation of decisive homebuyers who are quick to fall in love with a home and act fast to buy it.

61% of homeowners surveyed were able to buy the home they originally fell in love with.  25% were lucky enough for this to be the first home they viewed, highlighting the decisive nature of British homebuyers.

The research also found that house hunters know extremely quickly whether they like a property. 26% of homeowners made the decision to buy their home even before viewing the whole property, with 18% making the decision within 30 seconds of entering the property and 8% knowing before even entering.

17% needed a second viewing to decide it was the home for them.

Reassuringly, 45% of buyers say they did not have to make any sacrifices or compromises when buying their home and are therefore living in their dream home.

However, it is not a fairy tale story for all homebuyers in Britain – first time buyers and those in London make more sacrifices or compromises.

My Home Move found that 11% of homebuyers found it much harder to find their dream home and had to view ten or more properties before finding their home.

Four in ten (39%) had a perfect home that ‘got away’ and were not able to buy the home they originally fell in love with, rising sharply to six in ten (60%) of  Londoners.

Buyers in London were also more likely to make sacrifices or compromises when choosing their home. 70% said their current property did not have everything they wanted, compared to only 55% for Britain as a whole. This is due to the sky high demand and shortage of properties for sale in the capital, alongside rocketing prices, meaning buyers in London have fewer options to choose from. This also contrasts with other parts of the country, such as the North West, which saw only 44% having to make any sacrifices or compromises.

First time buyers were worse hit by this reality when buying their home, with a significant majority of 83% aged 30 or below saying they had to make sacrifices or compromises when buying their home. In comparison, only 43% of homebuyers aged above 51 said their home did not have everything they wanted.

Doug Crawford, CEO of My Home Move, commented: “As a nation, we are very decisive when it comes to our homes. Owning a property is an ambition for most Brits and people are increasingly aware of what they want in their new home - they are savvy buyers, thanks in part to the multitude of property programmes on television and the ability to research available homes via the internet. By the time it comes to arranging a viewing, the typical buyer now knows all about the location they are interested in and what the property is like from its online profile. This means they can make their mind up extremely quickly; and in some cases, even before setting foot inside the property.

People typically think of house hunting as a long, drawn out nightmare; however our latest research shows a significant number of homeowners were quick to buy the house they fell in love with.”