When it comes to what makes the best home, house hunters are no longer placing location is at the top of the list. According to recent research commissioned by Wayhome, they are now focusing somewhere else.
According to Wayhome chief executive Nigel Purves, “When you’re narrowing down your search for the perfect home to rent or buy, most of us will have a wish-list, usually split into the ‘essentials’ and ‘nice-to-haves’”.
And location, location, location is no longer at the top of the essentials list.
What do the numbers show?
At the request of Wayhome, Censuswide surveyed over 2,000 people about their priorities when looking for a new home. And the results were surprising.
For starters, a quarter of house hunters now have a dedicated office space at the top of their list. Another 30% are focused on finding their own garden space.
These two new ‘wants’ have replaced older preferences, which included being close to transport links, restaurants and shops. In fact, a central location is no longer at the top of the list, with less than 17% of respondents wanting to be close to specific amenities.
With the pandemic changing how people work and relax, a private place to work and your own private green space have become very popular requests.
Gardens are even more important for older house hunters. Over half of respondents over 55 years of age named a private garden as an essential part of their search.
What else do house hunters want?
Our need for ‘more green’ in our lives is extending beyond private gardens. New research suggests that even those who don’t necessarily need their own garden still want to be close to parks and walking routes. And a sense of community has also become an important must-have for new house hunters.
Plus, Wayhome’s research shows that the need for space extends to the inside of the home. Almost 30% of those surveyed wanted a bigger home, including bigger bedrooms.
With the end of lockdown in sight, Purves believes the industry needs to start focusing on those new needs and “support innovative and alternative routes that get more people onto the property ladder”.
Is it time to buy?
A great benefit of househunting now is the current stamp duty holiday, in place until the end of June. This allows buyers to get a tax break of up to £15,000. Even better, this benefits even landlords and second home buyers, not just those buying their first residential home.
This tax break, however, has had a significant impact on the UK property market. According to Which, this has not only lead to a mini-boom on property prices but could also lead to prices increasing even more in the coming months.
Estate agents are still conducting in-person viewings despite the lockdown, allowing the market to continue its growth.
Are you still thinking about buying? If so, take a look at the MyWalletHero mortgage guide. It will help you understand the ins and outs of buying a property, including interest rates, deposits and what to expect.
