New research has found that one third of adults in the UK spend less than half an hour choosing a new home.
Mortgage and secured loans broker Ocean Finance revealed that the about 15.5 million people in the UK spent less time choosing their home than watching a television programme.
The research found that, while picking a new home is one of the most important and expensive decisions people make during their lifetime, less than half of the 2,061 adults questioned said they made two visits to the property they eventually chose, while more than a quarter of respondents had just one viewing.
Most people look at four to six properties before finding one they are happy with, but home hunters in London tend to visit between five and seven. This could be because the strength of the housing market in the capital for both sales and rentals means homes are snapped up almost as soon as they are made available, forcing those who miss out to continue their search for longer.
Those aged 25 to 34 are most likely (41per cent) to check out a property during both the day and night, while 9 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds visited their current home five times before deciding to buy or rent it. This compares to just one in 50 people aged 35 and above who did the same.
Ian Williams of Ocean Finance says: “Maybe after waiting several years for the financial crisis to end and the housing market to take off again, most people know exactly what they are looking for. But it’s quite shocking that so many people spend less time on choosing their new home than they would watching EastEnders or Coronation Street.
“The charges for buying or renting a new home can be steep, so it makes sense to check out a property several times at different points of the day just to make sure there are no obvious problems.
“Issues like damp or poor light can be difficult to spot in the evening. Likewise, what might seem like the dream property could turn out to be a nightmare once the neighbours come home in the evening.”
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