Nearly half of homeowners are inspired to buy a new property to gain extra space, while almost a quarter are driven to escape their neighbours, according to a national poll by award winning housebuilder Linden Homes.
The top five housebuilder questioned an equal mix of 4,000 homeowners and first-time buyers in the UK to find out what motivated them to purchase property and how they made their choice.
Why move?
Among the 2,000 home-owning respondents, nearly half (47.9%) said they wanted to relocate to gain a bigger house and more space. The next popular reason was a dislike of their neighbours (23.5%).
Nearly one-fifth (19.9%) of homeowners identified being closer to work or school as a reason to up-sticks. As the market speeds up, 17.1% wanted to secure a new home before prices rose.
Location, location, location
When it came to the most important aspect of choosing a property for first-time buyers, location was the number one of more than two-fifths (42.5%).
Location was also the most common top priority for UK homeowners too, with 45.8% making it their number one. Interior layout came second (15.4%) followed by both exterior design and energy efficiency ranked number one by 9.4%.
Open minded to new-build
People were open-minded between the choice of new-build or second-hand properties; more than half of both first-time buyers (55.9%) and homeowners (53.1%) said they would be happy to purchase either types.
Among female first-time buyers, only 10.6% said they would only consider a new-build compared to more than double that, 21.8%, of men. In London, 19.7% of first-time buyers said they would only look at new-build homes.
A quarter (24.6%) of young homeowners (aged 16-24) said they would only consider new-build homes, compared to just 8.5% aged 66 or above.
Kate Brooks, Head of Sales with Linden Homes in the North East said: “Our survey figures make intriguing reading because while they confirm traditional ideas about how people go about moving house, some unexpected results were also revealed.
“We knew location would be a major home-buying consideration, but we didn’t expect neighbour relations to be such a motivator to move. It does reinforce for us the importance of our philosophy of not just building homes, but creating communities where people want to live.
“Interestingly, homeowners and first-time buyers have similar aspirations, with energy efficiency unsurprisingly making it into the same top four priorities for both groups. People are clearly looking to reduce their bills and be more conscious of their carbon footprint.
“The energy factor may be a reason why new-build homes – with double-glazing, good insulation and water efficiency – are an established option, especially for younger people who have grown up alongside the rise in environmental considerations.”