Housing market perceptions unveiled by Linden Homes
It’s been revealed in a new survey of 2,000 people, commissioned by Linden Homes that people across the UK, do very much still value owning their own castle: Almost 80% of those asked stated that owning a home was important to them. However there are deep frustrations across the generations with the property market in this country, amongst those who either want to buy their first home, or want to move, even though there are lots of schemes designed to make a move possible.
Despite successful initiatives like Help to Buy, it’s been shown in this new survey that according to the vast majority of those asked, it’s still too hard for young people to get onto the property ladder. And it’s compounded by what many respondents feel is a lack of confidence amongst the young when faced with the prospect of home ownership.
Sue Scholfield, sales and marketing director at Linden Homes Western, commented: “Schemes likes Help to Buy have been brought in to help people in Somerset get on or up the ladder and are there for the taking. It makes securing that dream home in a location where you want to live a reality.”
Despite this ambition, the survey pinpointed nervousness particularly amongst the younger generation, when it comes to property ownership. It emerged that the prospect of buying a home was of the greatest concern to those aged 18-34. The older generation – 55 plus – were more sanguine about the responsibilities of ownership.
And the survey revealed that, despite the availability of incentive schemes like Help to Buy many respondents felt younger people weren’t willing to make an effort to save up for that all important deposit.
It also emerged that – according to the survey - people move five times in their life - (2% said they’d moved over 21 times!) The survey found the main reason people gave for wanting to move was to gain more space whilst half of the respondents said they definitely didn’t want to move house in the next few years and happy where they are currently residing.
Interestingly, the new Buy to Let Stamp Duty taxes that were introduced in April 2016 have seemingly not had an effect on people’s appetite to buy a second home, with 71% stating they were not worried by the amends.
One major frustration to emerge from the survey was the perceived housing shortage in this country: When asked why they thought there was a shortage, almost a third of those asked blamed a lack of available land on which to build and almost a quarter blamed delays in the planning system
And although the main reason for the shortage was given as a ‘lack of building land’, less than half of those surveyed said they’d be willing to have new homes built in their home town, village or city to try and plug the gap.
She continued: “The housing shortage is an issue that is very real for us and as a leading housebuilder we want to ensure that we are helping plug that gap in delivering much needed new homes. Proposals are often rejected based on the community’s perception so it’s interesting to see the kick back from those surveyed regarding building in their own back yard. With less than half of the people willing to see that happen – that does highlight a challenge we are faced with as an industry and one we need to continue to educate people about so they understand the need for new homes in established communities.
She explained: “As a business we spend a significant amount of time engaging with all stakeholders, ensuring their concerns can be understood as well as the full benefits that new homes bring, both to the local economy and community.”
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Media can contact Emma Mackay at Linden Homes on 077383 12960 for more information, images and interviews with Linden Homes.
