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Young house buyers willing to postpone ‘dream home’ move

We’ve all seen those property TV shows, you know the ones, we follow a young couple’s exhaustive hunt for their dream home or else we see someone struggling to build their personal fantasy all glass, self-sufficient, eco-home whilst our genial host casually mocks their taste in carpets. It seems we’re all increasingly fixated on the idea of a dream home that fulfils our every desire from location to size to that much discussed but still elusive ‘wow factor’.

It’s a fantasy that is increasingly undermined by the realistic practicalities of affordable first time buying. More and more people now seem content to play the long game and recognise that their priority must first be with establishing themselves on that all important first rung of property ladder. A dream home will generally mean the sort of hefty mortgages that simply aren’t feasible for young house buyers.

This means house buying has increasingly become about investment rather than nest building, so that, particularly for first time buyers, there is a degree of emotional detachment. This is borne out by the fact that first time buyers only expect to be in their property for an average of three years and four months.

A recent study asked UK homeowners to rate their sense of emotional attachment to their house on a scale of one to ten – the average score turned out to be 5.83. If anything this suggests a degree of apathy that in turn indicates the prevalence of what are being dubbed ‘halfway houses’ - homes that might serve more as a stopgap. It seems that savvy house buyers are content to save money on expensive personalisation and kit out there place as cheaply as they can with a view to working the market to their advantage and making a substantial profit some way down the line.

All in all in this age of constantly escalating house prices and increasingly unrealistic mortgages we appear to be seeing the prevalence of dispassionate, market-orientated home buying. Not surprising really, it makes sense to work your way towards that ultimate ideal home gradually and through shrewd investment rather than biting the bullet and committing to unrealistic, financially debilitating mortgages.

This increase in emotionally removed, economically minded home buying can also be detected in a survey that examines the factors people consider when buying a home; tellingly price and job/career considerations come out someway ahead of the proximity of family and friends. Top of the list by some distance is location, with 58% of those polled claiming it’s a top consideration, again this serves to reinforce the notion that the house itself is no longer likely to be the biggest priority.

For more handy tips and info on choosing a mortgage a good place to look for impartial advice is the Which? website.