UK homebuyers are less willing to downsize their ambitions or change their finances to get onto the property ladder than buyers in other major housing markets, research from Cotality suggests.
Just 42% of UK respondents would consider buying a smaller home compared with 59% across five countries surveyed.
Some 53% would consider taking a smaller mortgage, against an international average of 65%, while 59% of UK buyers would cut lifestyle spending compared with 69% overall.
The findings come from Cotality’s Consumer Sentiment Report, which compares attitudes towards homebuying in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
LESS ROOM TO COMPROMISE
Cotality says the findings suggest UK buyers have less room or willingness to compromise as affordability pressures continue to shape purchasing decisions.
Jim Driver, Managing Director at Cotality UK, says: “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.”
The research also suggests certainty during the homebuying process is more important to UK buyers than completing a transaction quickly.
Two-thirds – 66% – said they would choose certainty over speed when purchasing a property.
Cotality says buyers particularly value clarity over costs and mortgage decisions alongside confidence that a transaction will successfully complete.
TRANSACTION REFORM
The company argues the findings strengthen the case for reforms designed to provide buyers, sellers and lenders with more information earlier in the homebuying process.
Driver says: “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.
“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.”
Cotality has been working with government and industry stakeholders on digital property information, open property data standards, energy information and wider transaction reform.
Driver adds: “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.”
