UK Citizens Are Reluctant to Buy a New Home

The results of a recent Home Sweet Home survey, conducted by Legal & General demonstrated that more than 50% of respondents are not planning to buy a new property any time soon. To be more precise, the survey showed that 54% of respondents were not looking into a purchase of a new home in the future with 23% of these citing the difficult economic conditions as a reason for their decision. The economic pressures, cited by the respondents included: lack of cash (which was named as a number 1 pressure), and a fear on unemployment, which was mentioned by almost 19% of survey respondents. The remaining 46% of respondents, who admitted that they planning a purchase of a new property, said that they want a new home within the next 5 years with only 9% saying that they are after a purchase within the next 3-6 months. Almost 60% of respondents claimed that they still want to purchase a home of their dreams, while 4 out of 5 survey participants said that their current houses do not correspond to their idea of a perfect home. Ruth Wilkins, Head of Communications at Legal & General said that the results of the survey are not surprising as the economic situation really does put pressures on the behaviour of prospective home buyers. Mr. Wilkins added that the results of the conducted survey also showed that home improvements are less likely to occur; however, he warned homeowners of possible risks, such as high repair costs, that might emerge if essential maintenance of the property is avoided.