A new survey has revealed that Brits spend the same amount of time choosing a new pair of shoes as buying a house. According to HSBC it takes just 26 hours to decide to make an offer on a house purchase, the same amount of time we spend deciding on whether or not to buy […]
A new survey has revealed that Brits spend the same amount of time choosing a new pair of shoes as buying a house.
According to HSBC it takes just 26 hours to decide to make an offer on a house purchase, the same amount of time we spend deciding on whether or not to buy a new pair of shoes.
It actually takes longer to decide which holiday to book (five days) and what to make for a dinner party (31 hours) than they do to make an offer on a house.
The research, which polled 2,022 UK homeowners and current house hunters, found one in 10 decide to put an offer on a house in under two minutes when viewing a property, whilst only 2% can choose what to wear on a date in this time frame.
With the average house hunt taking 89 days, 38% of respondents said the mortgage application process took longer than expected.
Half said it took up to three weeks to get their most recent application approved, whilst one in 10 wished they had more help with their mortgage.
Phil Spencer, TV presenter and property expert, said: “Time can make all the difference when it comes to buying a house. The property market can move very quickly so people may feel pressured to make a fast decision or to follow their gut instinct when buying their dream home.
“It’s important to be prepared and to know what to look for. The whole house buying and mortgage process can be stressful but if you know what time-saving financial services are out there, it can give you one less thing to worry about.”
Tracie Pearce, head of mortgages, HSBC, said: “You’d expect UK house hunters to spend more time to make an offer on a house than deciding on a pair of shoes or what to make at a dinner party – but it’s a sign of the times that people are making house decisions quickly to buy their dream home.”
