January 2020
Featured in this insight: Education, Financial services, Transport & infrastructure
Size is more important to home-buyers than location: When buying a new house, home-buyers have a number of considerations to ponder, from how much space the property offers, its location and character as well as factors such as good schools and transport links.
However, a new survey by Barclays Mortgages had found that in 2020, the number one consideration for those looking to buy a new home, is space.
The poll of 2,000 house hunters found that a third (33%) were looking to get as much space for their money as possible, putting size ahead of location – often touted as the most important factor when it comes to getting on, or climbing the property ladder (thanks, Kirsty and Phil!).
In fact, according to the research, almost half would readily swap their current home and its location in order to own a larger property.
The survey also revealed that many homebuyers are in the dark when it comes to gauging the amount of space a property offers, with more than half saying they have no idea how big their house is in terms of its square footage.
Seven in ten respondents said that when looking for a property they do not even look at the floor plans on offer – instead just rely on the property images, which Barclays said can often lead to 'buyers remorse'.
Indeed, more than a third of those polled said that they wish they had gone with a larger property instead of the one they went on to buy, while a quarter wish that at least one of their rooms was bigger.
The available space within a property gave 15% of respondents concerns about it being suitable for entertaining guests, while two in five said they had felt worried that there would not be enough room to host family and friends over the festive period.
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