Home Buyers Statistics Analysed: Our Landmark Survey Results

Nearly 60% of homeowners didn't prioritise energy efficiency when they last bought a property.

This new survey reveals a startling lack of concern for energy efficiency and sustainability among recent homeowners. Despite climate change impacts, the vast majority said it did not factor into their purchase decision.



Younger homebuyers seem to be ahead of the curve, however only less than one third of the 18-34 group are calling it a top priority. The number of homeowners in this age bracket was smaller than older age brackets, so is considered not statistically reflective. What is significant is that the consideration given to energy efficiency and sustainability when buying a home decreases with age (5% for 35-44, 4% for 45-54 and 4% for 55+). This may be due to the younger generations' (typically higher) awareness of climate change, tighter budgets when it comes to utility bills, or savviness when it comes to the buy to let market.

Although the proposed changes have been delayed, energy efficiency looks set to become more important when letting a property, with a suggested minimum EPC rating of C for rented properties, although the timing for this is unclear. If your own energy costs are not a priority, perhaps your letting potential is.

In addition to the legally required EPC certificate from your seller, we now offer an optional extra climate risk report, which provides a forecast of predicted impact on your property including:

First-time homebuyers face uphill battle: Top challenges revealed

Becoming a first-time homeowner is never easy, but this survey sheds light on the toughest hurdles buyers face.

Difficulty in finding a suitable property

This challenge topped the list, with 26.2% of homeowners saying they had difficulty finding a suitable property. This is unsurprising, as the country is deep in an ongoing housing crisis. With so few properties on the market and such a high number of transactions falling through, even when you have found a suitable property, our market leading expert, Andrew Boast, recommends that you stay in touch with agents and keep half an eye on other properties coming onto the market, at least until contracts are signed.

When you do find the right home for you, check out our tips on How to make an offer on a house, for the best chance of a having your offer accepted.

Affordability

24.75% of respondents selected affordability as a challenge to buying their home. This is expected, especially with house prices rising so steeply for so long and base rates driving the mortgage rates up and out of many hopeful homeowners' reach. In July 2023, average house prices dropped by 3.8%, now £13,000 below the peak of this time last year. This is the greatest annual decrease in 14 years and will hopefully make home ownership a possibility for more first time buyers. However, those who bought during the peak last year may be facing concerns over negative equity.



If you need help and advice on financing your purchase, book a free consultation with our excellent mortgage advisors*.

Legal processes

20.96% of homeowners faced challenges with legal processes surrounding their move. Your SAM Conveyancing executive is positioned to bridge the gap between you and your solicitor, updating you on your solicitor's progress and reminding you of what points you can action and when. Read our guide: Easy Conveyancing - The secrets to a stress free move

Property chain delays

Property chain delays affected 17.77% of buyers surveyed. It's important to understand your chain, to get an idea of how long it will take to get all the transactions aligned for completion. Delays can happen and the longer your chain, the more likely you will have to be flexible.

Less common challenges include: documentation requirements (17.07%); conveyancing issues (12.68%); getting a mortgage (11.12%); house surveys (6.95%); and gazumping (4.72%). 32.36% reported no challenges, with 4% and 2.38% reporting 'other' and 'don't know'.

Lender undervaluation: rare, with good chance to renegotiate

The True Cost of Hidden Home Defects for Unwary Buyers

Think skipping the home inspection will save you money? Think again. 16% of homeowners found defects including 2% who were able to pull out of a bad purchase, 7% who were able to negotiate a better price and sadly, 7% of homeowners who did not get a survey and discovered defects after the purchase. Of this sub-group, 55% did not remember how much the defects cost to repair, leaving only 45% who did remember. While this is not a large enough pool to be statistically significant, our survey reveals that 12 of the 39 within this group remembered spending over £5,000 on repairing the defects.



Now, some houses need a bit of work, and there's nothing wrong with that. But, you need to know what to expect, decide whether you still can and want to take on the property, and negotiate your purchase price against the additional expense. Book a RICS Survey with SAM Conveyancing, so you're not caught off guard. We'll arrange access with your seller.

Personal recommendation is the strongest source when looking for a conveyancing solicitor

24% of homeowners selected personal recommendation from friends and family as having helped them find a conveyancing solicitor, with a further 23% selecting their estate agent's recommendation. It's interesting how much we rely on the recommendations of people we have a personal relationship or professional rapport with, compared to only 11% who selected online search, which is arguably more neutral or unbiased. Perhaps as humans we will always trust a 'gut feeling over' a computers' algorithms.



With more than 1 in 5 selecting the estate agent's recommendation it seems more consumer awareness is needed around how estate agent recommendations really work. Estate agent recommendations are so vulnerable to corruption that Trading Standards specifically prohibit them from pressuring buyers to use a specific solicitor or broker. This is because the estate agent represents the seller, while your solicitor represents you, the buyer. This is a clear conflict of interest which is compromised by the relationship between agent and solicitor, when the solicitor you're using is motivated towards the estate agent (and seller's) interests in order to keep earning referrals from them, rather than being entirely focused on your best interests.

We strongly encourage all our readers to gather more information and choose their conveyancer based on multiple factors, including a broad sample of authentic reviews from a reputable source, such as Trustpilot or Google.

Cost is the most important deciding factor when choosing a solicitor

A whopping 41% didn't know or recall what their deciding factor was, which suggests that choosing a solicitor just isn't getting as much attention as it perhaps should amongst other big distractions, like finding a house and securing funding. For those who did remember it was a fairly even split between options with cost winning at 16% and number of reviews coming in at a clear last place, at 5%.






All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2122 adults, of which 1,371 were homeowners (outright, mortgage or shared ownership). Fieldwork was undertaken between 20th - 21st July 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

YouGov is registered with the Information Commissioner. YouGov is a member of the British Polling Council