Out of so many things to consider when buying a house young people are most keen on places as close as possible to their work, new survey conducted by MyLocalMortgage.co.uk has revealed.
The online mortgage directory asked 750 people which factor would influence their decision the most, secondary to price, and nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents rated proximity to their workplace as second-highest priority.
Digging deeper, the researchers found that, younger buyers (aged 25 to 34) are most likely to have this as top priority when looking for a new home. This option remains the most popular for all respondents until the age bracket reached 45 – 54, where the most important reason became proximity to the countryside.
Other findings reveal that the next most crucial factor for all buyers is being close to friends and family, which garnered 19.8% of the vote.
Being close to a town or city follows with 18.1 per cent of those polled choosing that as a priority. Other influencers included the home’s proximity to the countryside (13.9 per cent), nearby public transport services (11.7 per cent) and being close to good schools (10.7 per cent).
MyLocalMortgage explains why priorities change between generations
For people in the lower age brackets, it makes sense that their top priority would be their job and future career. It is 
common knowledge that competition for jobs is intense. Fresh out of university or ready to enter the workplace for the first time and climb that ladder, living closer to work means that they are able to prioritise work about everything else.
The middle of our lives is an important time, where a lot starts to happen. You may be at a much more comfortable place in your career, with savings in the bank and even children to look after. As we get older, our priorities start to shift either because people have reached the stage in their careers where they are secure and stable, or perhaps they have started a family and would prefer to build a life in a more rural setting. Work-life balance is important to everyone, but it’s inevitable that many house hunters will be looking to wind down a little as they edge closer to retirement.
Future trends
It’s clear that our preferences on house location will change as we get older, but as the opinions are so drastically different depending on age, there is a chance that they 
will be reflected in mortgage applications, MyLocalMortgage experts comment. The data suggests that we are likely to see younger people looking to purchase properties closer to city centres or to transport links such as train stations, with applications from older homeowners looking towards the countryside and rural areas, they say.
So while there are many factors that may influence a buyer’s decision when it comes to scouring the property market, ranging from general aesthetics to practicalities, this new research shows just how important the exact location of a prospective home has become. In the past, a short walk to an open green space or living within a mile of the local train station were bonuses that came along with getting on the property market, but this is no longer the case. In modern times these factors have become so important to us that they could make or break a housing deal.
