UK homebuyers have not given up on homeownership, and are more resistant than buyers in other nations to adapting their expectations, finances and lifestyles to make it possible, according to new research from Cotality.
Cotality, a leading global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider, today publishes its Consumer Sentiment Report revealing similarities in purchasing behaviour across the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – with some differences driven primarily by affordability concerns.
UK buyers appear less willing to compromise than those in the other markets surveyed. Across all five countries, 69% of respondents would cut lifestyle spending, 65% would consider taking a smaller mortgage and 59% would consider buying a smaller home.
The equivalent UK figures were 59%, 53% and 42%, respectively - suggesting that UK buyers are particularly resistant to changing their spending and borrowing plans, or considering a smaller property. This may reflect the UK's comparatively smaller homes, prolonged economic pressures and the larger deposits many buyers already need to raise.
Jim Driver, Managing Director at Cotality UK, said: "The important message from this research is that buyers haven't stepped away from the market, but there is less room for compromise than we see in other countries.”
Certainty matters more than speed
The report found that buyers across all five markets increasingly value certainty throughout the transaction process. In the UK, 66% of buyers said they would choose certainty over speed when purchasing a home. Buyers want clear costs, transparency around mortgage decisions and confidence that their transaction will successfully complete.
Cotality says the findings reinforce the need for the Government’s Homebuying and Selling Reform that will improve transparency and provide buyers, sellers and lenders with better information earlier in the process. The company has been engaging with government, lenders and industry stakeholders on initiatives including digital property information, open property data standards, home energy data and wider transaction reform.
"The UK housing market asks consumers to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives without consistently providing the information they need at the point they need it,” said Driver.
“Whether through digital property information, improved data sharing or clearer visibility of a home's condition and energy performance, we believe better information creates better outcomes. The more certainty we can provide buyers and sellers, the more efficiently the market can operate."
Helping lenders deliver what buyers want
The findings show that buyers want greater clarity on affordability, more transparency and greater certainty that their purchase will complete.
Driver said: "The opportunity for lenders isn't simply to wait for rates to fall. It's to help customers understand what is possible today. Buyers have told us exactly what they're looking for: clarity, confidence and certainty. Those organisations that can provide that support throughout the journey will be the ones that succeed as the market evolves."
