The last 12 months or more have been a strange experience for many of us. Those that have continued to work have had to adjust, in many cases, to a new way of working. This has meant the home being more crowded than usual, especially when the kids aren’t at school and when lockdown was at its strictest.
Perhaps an unexpected by-product of this is that many people have changed their priorities when it comes to ‘must-haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves’ in their dream new home. So, what do buyers want?
Whereas short and easy commutes by road or rail and being close to local amenities were once highly prized, research suggests that this is now a priority for between 14% and 17% of people. Working from home and fast home delivery have, it seems, changed the needs of home buyers.
Additional space for a ‘proper’ home office is also high on the new buyer’s agenda as is a decent outside space or garden. If a nice garden is not available then proximity to green space is desirable. More space seems a common theme.
One can imagine that fast, reliable broadband that enables multi-user streaming services will quickly become a necessity for many, especially if a large part of the workforce continue to work from home at least for part of their work-week.
The average age of a first-time buyer in the UK is two years older than 10 years ago. This is understandable with managing the cost-of-living and challenges within the economy such as high interest rates making it difficult to get onto the property ladder.
2 days ago
Skipton Building Society launches ‘Delayed Start’ mortgage meaning first time buyers won’t be required to make repayments for the first three months.
According to a survey by Skipton, first time buyers who bought their home in the last five years found that in the first three months of living there, they were spending upwards of £30,000.
7 days ago
If you have recently moved into a property with a garden that requires a little TLC, or you’d like to get on top of your current green space, check out our tips.
10 days ago
High street lender, NatWest, have launched a new product to help first-time buyers purchase a property with assistance from a family member or friend to get them on the property ladder sooner.
11 days ago
‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) schemes, such as ‘Klarna’ are short-term loans that allow shoppers to make a purchase, but delay paying for it for an agreed amount of time.
Klarna is one of the most popular BNPL services with 18 million customers in the UK alone, and offers interest-free payment options which is appealing to shoppers. However, does it affect a mortgage application?
16 days ago
We look at how to get the best Buy to Let mortgage rate, what's in store going forward, and options as a landlord with increasing costs.
25 days ago
Throughout this past week, lenders have continued to reduce their mortgage rates giving borrowers in the UK some welcome news following the change in global tariffs under US President, Donald Trump.
25 days ago
Did you know that buying a house, or relocating is in the top 10 most stressful life events?
Stress of course is an unavoidable part of life and there are many reasons why people experience stress, not just buying a house!
There are lots of effective ways to manage and reduce stress, check out our tips to help you.