A poll of over 3,000 consumers, conducted by smartnewhomes.com in September, has uncovered softening attitudes to newbuild in the current climate, as many people start to acknowledge the growing lack of supply across the country.
Over 55% of all respondents to the survey disagreed that there had been ‘too much’ development in their local area in the past, with over 75% citing only a moderate or very little amount over the last two years.
Smartnewhomes.com believes more accommodating attitudes to development have arisen due to current perceptions of availability – a quarter of all respondents questioned were not confident they would be able to find a good home in their preferred location if they were to move.
Respondents’ views on the amount of new development local to them were the same regardless of whether they were looking to move within the year or never intended to move again. Only 8% of all respondents had friends, children or relatives currently looking to buy homes in their area – many citing a lack of quality homes at affordable prices as the reason why.
Out of all the UK regions covered in the survey, respondents in Scotland were the least likely to move – 41% stating that they never planned to move. Scottish residents were also the least confident of finding a home in their area. Respondents in the North of England were the most likely to move in the next 1-5 years (65%), followed by the South East (48%). These two regions also had the most positive views on past development – 60% of each disagreeing that there had been too much development in their area.
David Bexon, managing director of SmartNewHomes.com, said: “Local development is always likely to be an emotive subject within local communities but the comprehensive lack of homebuilding over the past two years has had a wide-reaching impact.