Research from Smoove has found that buying a home is considered one of life’s most stressful experiences, with 90% of people finding the process of moving home stressful.
For home movers, the length of time required to complete the process (40%), the lack of certainty (34%), and the wait for exchange and completion dates to be finalised (33%) are some of the main sources of anxiety. These findings mirror additional data from Smoove’s Home Movers Report which identifies extended wait times and uncertainty as ubiquitous features of the moving process. The average amount of time between instruction and completion remains lengthy at over five months (153 days), while over a third (34%) of property transactions fell through in the year to July 2022.
65% of movers said that moving home had been more expensive than they had expected. Aside from the deposit, stamp duty, and estate agency fees, some of the biggest costs are solicitor fees (46%), buying new furniture (44%), and mortgage product fees (32%). When funding a move, almost two-thirds (64%) of people use savings, 36% rely on equity raised from selling their current property, while one-fifth turn to the Bank of Mum and Dad (20%). The number of people dependent on financial support from their parents to purchase their home increases among first time buyers to 37%, according to research from YouGov.
As a result of the stress associated with moving home, over one in two homeowners (55%) reported they were unlikely to move again within the next five years. Smoke says this indicates that the process in its current form deters people from moving frequently, potentially leading them to stay in homes that are unsuitable for them in later life as they begin to consider downsizing.
The stress experienced by home movers is particularly relevant during the Christmas period and early new year, when many people decide to begin searching for a new home. In 2021, Rightmove experienced its busiest “boxing day boom” yet, with the number of new sellers coming to market up by 21% compared to 2020 and reaching the highest levels recorded by the property website. Rightmove’s latest House Price Index also reported a 4% increase in the number of home enquiries in December 2022 compared to the same period in 2019 and an 11% jump in the number of views of homes for sale relative to 2021. Market activity during January has also been increasing in recent years, with real estate company Zoopla reporting a 49% increase in demand in January 2022, the biggest new year bounce for five years.
Simon McCulloch, Smoove’s chief commercial and growth officer, said: “The lack of transparency, complicated paperwork, vague timings, and unpredictable costs create a highly stressful experience for people looking to buy a home. The complexity and inefficiency of the current system has rightly put many off moving again, which has served to obstruct mobility and impede market dynamism. The shortcomings of the moving process are particularly apparent during the Christmas and new year period, when many people start to think about moving home or buying again.
“It is critical that we strive to foster greater certainty and efficiency throughout the home moving process by encouraging the adoption of digital technology across the industry. By enabling people to engage with the transaction process online, providing digital IDs, signatures, and form filling, and digitalising parts of the conveyancing process, we can modernise the industry and begin to eliminate the stress of moving home.”
