Home owners in the UK are gradually starting to feel more optimistic about the time it will take them to move into their long term family home, new research has found.
Some 74% believe that they will achieve their long term family home in no more than two more moves but 81% say they will have to wait than they would have a decade ago.
The research from Lloyds Bank also shows that 41% believe the uncertain housing market has had an impact on housing aspirations, but this number has fallen from 53% in 2012.
However, 33% said that they had expected to be further along the housing ladder than they currently are and the figure is higher for first time buyers with 43% saying they were lagging behind their expectations. By comparison, only 20% of those on their fourth move or more felt they were not where they had expected to be on the housing ladder.
A three bedroom house is the most popular with 40% aspiring to own such a home and the average price is £222,745 while 24% want a four bedroom home and the most popular ‘extras’ on home owners’ wish lists were gardens, garage space and conservatories.
The average price of a three bedroom home in 2016 stood at £222,745, with the average total income of the occupants being £51,494. However, regionally there are large variations on both house prices and income which affect affordability of these properties.
In London at £485,050 and the South East at £317,355, house prices are significantly higher. However, average incomes of the applicants are also higher too at £97,358 and £65,095 respectively, helping affordability in those regions.
Despite this, London and the South East remain the least affordable regions for these homes and as a result applicants are on average 36 years old, which is a year older than the national average.
In contrast, long term family homes in the North and Wales are more affordable with the average three bed property costing £142,506 in the North and £145,500 in Wales. Average incomes of the applicants are lower at £41,088 and £39,155 respectively, but long term homes are still more affordable in both regions.
The most popular reasons cited for wanting to move including 40% wanting to live in a new area while 38% want to downsize, 27% to move to a bigger property and 14% wanting a bigger garden.
More than half had been in their current property for more than a decade and the average length of time home owners had been in their current property was 7.7 years. For first time buyers this was 6.9 years, for second steppers 8.1 years, for third steppers 7.9 years and for fourth steppers 8.2 years.
‘There’s still a perception amongst a large number of home owners that their long term aspirational home seems far off and they are not moving up the housing ladder as quickly as they had hoped, although this perception has been gradually improving over the last few years,’ said Andrew Mason, Lloyds Bank mortgage products director.
‘Those who are further up the property ladder appear to be more satisfied with their progression, whereas those who are just starting out may feel that they have a mountain to climb before they reach their long term home. Despite that, first time buyers are in a slightly better position to move than they were a year ago and are the group most likely to be on the move,’ he added.
