New research published by the Legal & General Mortgage Club, in conjunction with Cebr, the economics consultancy, suggests that Nottingham has been most affected by the UK’s housing market woes but could provide a roadmap for getting us back on track if its problems can be overcome.
The research shows that homeowners in Nottingham are among the most negative in the UK about their prospects for buying and selling property. Key findings from the data include:
- Homeowners in Nottingham are the least optimistic in the UK about getting a fair price for their home – just 35% think they’ll get a fair price, and 54% feel they would get less than a fair price if they were to sell now
- They’re not confident in a swift housing market recovery 63% of Nottingham homeowners believe it will take between 3 – 5 years
- Just 3% are very confident in buying a house today compared to 5 years ago – and only 1.5% feel that the housing market will be much better in a year’s time (69% feel it will be the same)
- Nottingham homeowners are the most worried about income when applying for a mortgage in the next 12 months (27%) and are the most worried that their deposits aren’t large enough (22%)
- 35% of Nottingham homeowners felt if they sold now they would get 10% less than for their home than the price they would perceive to be fair
The majority of Nottingham homeowners looking to move (24%) have a maximum budget of £100,000 – £150,000 – but, perhaps because of all the above factors, almost 50% (46.30%) of Nottingham homeowners aren’t looking to move
Ben Thompson, managing director of the Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: There have been tentative signs of housing recovery in the UK and it feels to us that if we can restore confidence in places like Nottingham, we’ll be fully on the right path to recovery.
“Nottingham is a great city, with good Edwardian and Victoria housing stock so there is no reason that shouldn’t happen in the near future. We need to completely turn the corner in terms of sentiment and ensure that homeowners feel more comfortable about buying and selling.
“Consumer confidence is a key ingredient to repairing the market. With mortgage rates reaching new lows and base rates expected to remain low for some time, homeowners in Nottingham and indeed, across the UK, can be encouraged that moving onwards and upwards could be well within their grasp.”
Other key findings of the data suggest that Homeowners in other cities across the UK are much more positive about the prospects for the housing market:
- Homeowners in Brighton (62%) and Bristol (67%) are the most optimistic about securing a fair price for their home if they sell now – just 13% feel they would get less than a fair price in Brighton
- Newcastle (54%) & Birmingham (50%) homeowners are most confident in a swift housing market recovery (in under 3 years)
- Edinburgh homeowners least concerned about income (8%) and least concerned about deposits (4%)
Michael Stoop, managing director of Xperience, Legal & General’s estate agency brand, said: “Nottingham is one of the UK’s great cities, and it’s concerning to see that its residents are among the least optimistic of those we surveyed despite high quality housing stock and a general feeling of optimism returning to the market as a whole.
“Hopefully continued strong data and restored buyer sentiment will start to change that.”
