Safety and absence of crime are the most important factors in choosing a new home, according to a survey by Ocean Finance.
Research undertaken by the mortgage and secured loan broker found that 60 per cent of adults in the UK – equivalent to 30.1 million people – consider safety to be one of the three most important factors when considering where to live.
Half (49 per cent) would make finding somewhere quiet a priority but only 1 per cent said they would like to live in a “lively” area.
The survey asked 2,061 people to select the three most important criteria for choosing a new home – whether to buy or rent – outside the actual property itself.
Other factors considered important by those questioned included availability of parking (35 per cent), closeness of family and local public transport links (both 27 per cent), and being near schools or within a catchment area (25 per cent).
People aged 18 to 24 are most likely to want to live near work (44 per cent) and their family (52 per cent).
When asked to select the two criteria which would most put them off a property, being sited in an area known for crime came top, with 72 per cent of adults saying this would discourage them. Londoners had the highest tolerance for crime in the UK, with 60 per cent saying it would put them off.
Other off puts were being located near a sewage works – which would deter 43 per cent – while 25 per cent would not want to be under a flight path or near an airport and 14 per cent could not live next door to a pub or restaurant.
Ian Williams of Ocean Finance commented: “The old adage about the three most important factors when choosing a property being ‘location, location and location’ hasn’t changed – but it is interesting to see what factors drive that choice of location. Whilst avoiding areas of high crime is obvious, the importance of being able to park nearby and avoiding noise may be less so.
“Of course, finding a property you can afford to buy or rent is the main driver, but as a nation we remain very clear about where we do, and don’t, want to live.”
