Home buying and selling ranked top consumer concern for young people

Home buying and selling ranks as one of the top three consumer concerns for half (49%) of 18 to 34 year olds, according to new Which? research.

Younger people consider it more of a concern than social care for older people (46%) or energy prices (34%). For adults of all ages, three in 10 (28%) cite home buying and selling as a top three priority for the next Government, rising to four in 10 (42%) for those living in London.

As further Which? research has shown that three in 10 (28%) house purchases fall through, leading to an average loss to the potential buyer of £2,200, it is critical that the next Government commits to action. Our study also found it can take an average of four to five months to complete a property purchase.

As part of its ‘Consumer Agenda for Government’, Which? has called on the next Government to conduct a thorough review of the home-buying process to make the system easier, particularly for buyers. The review must examine the role played by industry professionals such as estate agents and conveyancers.

All political parties should set out in their manifestos how they intend to improve the home-buying process for consumers. They should commit to ensuring that estate agents deliver a better service for both home-buyers and sellers, and that the conveyancing process is simplified.

 

Alex Neill, Which? Managing Director of Home Products and Services, said:

“Buying a home is one of the most significant purchases consumers ever make and one of the most stressful life experiences.

“It takes people far too long to buy property and home-buyers are losing out on substantial amounts of money due to flaws in the system. The next Government must fix the outdated home-buying process.”

Notes to editors

  1. Which?’s ‘Consumer Agenda for Government’ was published on Saturday 29th April and is available here: www.which.co.uk/consumeragenda

  2. Research, priorities for next Government: Populus, on behalf on Which? spoke to 2,130 nationally representative UK adults via an online poll between the 19th and 20th April 2017. Respondents were asked to select up to three consumer issues they believe the Government should prioritise next, out of a prompted list of ten issues.

  3. Research, home buying: The Which? home buyers survey (2016) revealed that it takes an average of four to five months to complete a property purchase and that three in 10 (28%) of purchases fell through.

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