52% of adults in Britain are considering a house move or getting on the property ladder, but 63% think that they will be unlikely to fulfil their new-home dreams in the next 12 months.
The costs associated with buying and moving home, together with high house prices, are cited as the main barriers to moving, leaving 21% of those surveyed fearing that they will never afford a house move or to buy a property.
The survey, commissioned by Gocompare.com Home Insurance, found that on average those considering a house move or thinking about buying their first property have been mulling over their plans for 3.6 years. The biggest obstacles to the nation’s housing hopes are: the cost of buying/moving (16%); high house prices in the area they want to buy (16%); the cost of running a house (15%); raising a deposit (14%); uncertainty about job security or income (10%) and a lack of availability of the type of house they would like to buy (9%).
Of those considering a move or buying a house, 15% think that they are unlikely to get moving with their house plans within the next five years. 77% are aged 25 to 34 years. 24% of this age group say that getting a deposit together is the main thing holding them back. 18 to 24 year olds (28%) and 25 to 34 year olds (28%) are the most worried that they will never be able to afford to buy a house or move. A quarter of 35 to 44 year olds also fear that they will never be able to buy or move home. Meanwhile, 39% of 55 to 64 year olds and a quarter of those aged 65 or over are considering moving.
In addition to the costs involved with buying and selling a house, a key factor preventing these people from moving is a lack of availability of the type of housing they want to buy. Of the regions, London has the most residents considering a house move (62%) followed by the South East (57%) and North West (51%). People living in the North East have been waiting, thinking about, or wanting to move the longest, with an average waiting period of 4.3 years, closely followed by those living in the North West (4.2 years) and South West (4 years). Londoners top the list of those who say they are likely to get moving in the next 12 months (44%), followed by people living in Yorkshire and The Humber (42%) and Scotland (40%).
Ben Wilson from Gocompare.com Home Insurance, said: “Low interest rates and improved confidence in the economy are creating potentially ideal conditions for the housing market. However, our survey suggests the high costs associated with buying and moving home, together with the requirement to put down a bigger deposit, are preventing many people from realising their property dreams.”
