Mirroring the well-known phenomenon in relationships, new research by The Co-operative Bank Mortgages reveals that a seven-year itch also exists in the property market, with people first considering a move after living in a property for seven years.
The findings pinpoint the main triggers for this, with over two fifths of people looking to move house to find a bigger property for a growing family (41 per cent), and one fifth looking to move nearer to work (20 per cent) or simply becoming bored of their current home (17 per cent).
Additionally one in 10 home movers are also motivated by a desire to indulge their passion for DIY (14 per cent), or even to show off to their friends (nine per cent).
When looking at gender differences, on average women first start thinking about moving one whole year before men. Popular tactics to persuade other household members to consider a move include leaving property brochures hanging around (24 per cent) nagging (21 per cent), and arranging ‘surprise' trips to potential new locations (10 per cent)
After taking into account the time taken to find a new property, the research confirms that on average Brits actually move house every eight years, although in an ideal world they would prefer to only move every 11 years.
The research also uncovers that one in four people (27 per cent) have moved into a house only to realise straight away that they don't like it and want to move. But with a third of people having bought a house they were unhappy with, because they couldn't afford anything else (36 per cent), and over a quarter of people (26 per cent) having bought a property purely because it made financial sense, this is perhaps not so unexpected.
After buying a new property, the findings also establish that it actually takes two years for those moving to feel at ‘home'. In order to speed up this process, people use different approaches including decorating the whole house from top to bottom (39 per cent), putting up pictures and photos (36 per cent) and making contact with the neighbours (28 per cent)
John Hughes, director of retail products for The Co-operative Bank comments: "The research shows that there are a wide range of motivations behind moving house as people look to take account of both their changing family and financial situations throughout their lifetimes. With homes such an important part of our life, it is important that people do plan ahead, especially with regards to their finances, to make sure they make the right choices and alleviate many of the pressures associated with the moving process."
The research also establishes that overall almost three quarters of people (71 per cent) are happy with where they live now, with people in Yorkshire the happiest and those in London the least happy.
Date: 11th, November, 2009
Author: Ben Wilkie
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