No doubt about it, moving home is extremely stressful. Today, it has become even more stressful due to the national shortage of available properties. Not only has this held up first-time buyers and people looking to a buying a property – but those looking to move out of their current homes are being deterred also.
Affecting Homebuyers
The increased stress and length of time it currently takes with property transactions is affecting 9 out of 10 homebuyers, with the respondents describing the process of moving home stressful and the length of time it takes to complete just as frustrating as the lack of certainty and waiting for exchange and completion dates.
Over the last six months, the average completion time was 153 days – the equivalent of 5 months – in comparison to the 124 days it usually took pre-pandemic.
Homeowners have since documented that they find it unlikely that they would move again within the next 5 years due to the experience, with most over-55s deciding that they would rather stay put in their current home. This may result in many people being left in homes that may rapidly become unsuitable for their later life plans.
Different Strategies
When quizzed on what they would do differently when moving home next time, 45% of people said they would save more money aside, and 19% claimed they would use more independent estate agents or soliciting firms.
New instructions have seen a rise by 36% and buyers have been accepting of paying more to move, with legal fees rising to 11% on average. Homebuyer surveys cost £525 on average, up from £465 the previous year.
This means that potential homeowners are paying almost £2000 in associated costs – money wasted if transactions fall through. That’s why it’s so important to instruct a reputable estate agent like Joules!
Potential Solutions
Home moving can be one of the most stressful experiences that people can endure, a fact that few would be quick to argue. One in three home buying transactions should not be falling through, representing tens of thousands of hopes for a home dashed and incredible sums of money lost. Creating more certainty around property transactions is therefore essential and may require legislative reform to protect buyers and sellers once offers have been accepted.
For those looking at buying a property or buy property in Stockport and the surrounding rural areas, frustration is high but the outlook is promising for people looking at how to sell a house in the area. For more information on properties throughout the Stockport area, contact the team at Joules estate agents Stockport.
