Now that life is slowly moving forward, although no one would claim that things were returning to normal, analysis of the housing market is starting to take shape. There is no denying the housing market has been hugely busy in the past year, with the stamp duty holiday playing a massive role in people’s decision to move home.
Of course, it is not as if the stamp duty holiday was the only factor which encouraged people to move. An increase in remote working and a desire for more space, inside and outside of the home, has played a massive role in the movement of the last year.
Did you feel under pressure to buy a home?
There has been a study carried out by the leading insurance company Aviva, which looks at the actions of house buyers during the pandemic. Some of the leading findings of the study include:
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Close to 70% of house buyers felt under pressure to buy a property in a short period of time because of the pandemic
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More than a third of respondents said the stamp duty holiday convinced them to buy property
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Another third of respondents said they didn’t want to miss out
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85% of buyers in London felt they had to buy a home
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52% of property buyers in the North East of the country felt under pressure to buy a home
Owen Morris, managing director personal lines of Aviva, says: “Owen Morris, MD, Personal Lines, Aviva says: “The housing market is moving at an incredible pace, with multiple buyers for properties in many parts of the country. This is inevitably influencing how much people are paying for their homes and how quickly they are making decisions.
Owen continued by saying; “But our research reveals many people are finding problems with their properties only when it’s too late. These range from more minor irritations, such as the need to decorate, to more worrying problems such as crumbling brickwork or a risk of flooding.
Owen concluded by saying; “It can be easy to fall in love with a home on first viewing, but we’d urge people to do their homework and proceed with caution when making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.”
Many people felt under pressure in the past year
Some of the other key findings from the study carried out by Aviva includes:
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Half of the property owners in the UK who purchased a home during the pandemic regret how much they paid for their new home
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Close to 25% of new buyers paid over the asking previous, which is a significant rise compared to the 8% of new buyers who paid over the asking price a year ago
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70% of buyers found problems in the property, such as issues with mould, electrics and plumbing, that they didn’t see during the viewing process
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On average, the viewing process lasted for 46 minutes, with the impact of lockdown and meeting safely an issue in the property market
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Other key issues found in the study include commuting time, vermin and noisy neighbours
If you would like to arrange an appointment to help you negotiate the local housing market, please contact Stones Residential today by calling us on 020 7483 0685 or emailing belsizepark@stonesresidential.co.uk.
