UK: Younger buyers sacrifice safety to get a foot on the housing ladder

23 Sep 2016

• Young people are more likely to buy a home regardless of safety, flood or crime risks in order to get on the property ladder
• A third (34%) of buyers aged 34 and under would buy a home in a high crime area compared to 19% overall
• More than a quarter (28%) of UK residents take over five months to implement safety / security changes after moving home
• Separate research from Aviva reveals one in four (27%) would-be homeowners fear they'll never get a foot on the property ladder
• Over two thirds (67%) would relocate just to afford cheaper housing

Younger people are more willing to buy a home prone to safety, flood or crime risks in order to get on the housing ladder, new research from Aviva reveals, as the 'ideal' home is replaced with what people can afford.

According to the findings, a third of would-be homebuyers aged 34 and under say they would buy a home in a high crime area (34% for both 18-24s and 25-34s). Across all age groups, only 19% would do the same, falling to just 7% of those aged 55 and above.

Despite widespread coverage of damage caused by flooding in recent years, almost half of18-24s (44%) and 36% of 25-34s would consider living in a flood-risk area, compared to 23% across all age groups, and only 8% of those aged 55 and above. The nation's love of 'doing up' homes is also highlighted, with more than six in 10 people across all age groups saying they would buy a property needing significant improvements in order to provide safe accommodation:

Anxiety over being able to afford a property could be leading younger buyers to make sacrifices when it comes to the safety and location of their home. Previous research from Aviva highlights the continued importance of homeownership in the UK, with four fifths (79%) of people agreeing becoming a homeowner was important to them. However, a quarter (27%) fear they will never be able to afford to buy a property.

In addition, Aviva research reveals two thirds (67%) of UK adults would relocate solely to be able to afford cheaper housing, rising to 83% of 18-24s. Among those who have already purchased a home, 20% relocated to an area that was cheaper: again, this was more likely among younger age groups (40% of 18-24s and 33% of 25-34s). Of these, nearly two in five moved to somewhere they didn't particularly want to live and only did so for affordability reasons.

Key buying considerations change with age

When asked about the five most important factors when buying a home, the price and affordability of a property unsurprisingly emerged as having the biggest influence across all age brackets (73%).

However, the same cannot be said when it comes to different age groups and their views on the safety of local areas. While safety doesn't appear to be a focus for people aged 18-34, it seems to be a significant influence for older homebuyers. This could be because under 35s are more blasé about safety, or simply cannot afford to make this a priority.

The following table shows the top four factors with the biggest influence on over 18s' property buying decisions, and how these change with age:

Younger buyers more likely to make safety changes - but fail to take out adequate protection

The research also indicates homeowners are willing to make changes to their homes in order to make them more secure. Two thirds (65%) of UK homeowners made changes to their properties when they moved in in order to make them safer, including 20% who made significant changes.

However, many homeowners are leaving their home's security to chance by taking a significant amount of time to implement these changes. While 28% made safety improvements between one and three weeks after moving in, 8% took between 5-8 months and 14% took between 9-12 months, leaving a significant window of vulnerability to crime. A laid-back 6% say they took over a year to implement their changes.

While younger people say that safety of the area isn't one of their main influences when choosing a home, younger residents are actually more likely to make safety changes than older people, perhaps reflecting the risks posed by the locations of younger people's homes. Four out of five residents (80%) aged 18-24 said they had made security / safety changes to their current properties, 15 percentage points higher than average. Nearly half of these (46%) made significant changes to their properties, compared to just 17% of over 55s.

However, younger homeowners are more likely to take risks when it comes to home insurance. While 88% of homeowners have buildings insurance and 86% have contents insurance, this drops to 56% and 57% of 18-24 year olds.

Lindsey Rix, Managing Director, Personal Lines, Aviva UK General Insurance commented: 'Homeownership is still seen by many in the UK as a significant milestone in life, and these findings make it clear that many young people are being forced to be flexible about where they buy in order to get a leg up on the housing ladder. Fewer younger buyers would rule out living in areas with a higher risk of crime or flooding, and there is a real willingness to make the necessary investments in a property in order to bring it up to scratch.

'This readiness to make security sacrifices is likely to be borne from the anxiety currently surrounding housing affordability. Rising house prices are putting an increasing strain on would-be buyers' finances, and the fear of never being able to own a home means buyers are willing to take on a more risky property or move to a less desirable location to avoid missing their chance to become a homeowner.

'Although there is a positive trend of making security improvements, many people are waiting too long to implement these, leaving a significant window of vulnerability to crime. Younger buyers in particular are at higher risk as many do not have adequate insurance in place. Even properties in the safest of areas can fall victim to damage or crime, and it's vital that homeowners across the country have sufficient protection in place to counter this.'

The full 'Aviva Home: Safe and Secure' report can be found here.

More information about home security can be found here.

- Ends -

If you are a journalist and would like further information, please contact:

Aviva Press Office: Sarah Poulter, 01904 452 828 / 07800 691569 sarah.poulter@aviva.com
Instinctif Partners: Rachel Morrod, 0207 427 1431, rachel.morrod@instinctif.com

1 Aviva data obtained as part of the 'Home: Changing Households' report in May 2016. All figures based on a nationally representative survey of 2,000 UK adults aged 16 and over, carried out by Censuswide Research.

2 All figures based on a nationally representative survey of 2,000 UK adults aged 16 and over, carried out by Censuswide Research in May 2016.

Methodology:

Unless stated otherwise, all figures are taken from a poll of 2,001 UK adults from across the UK, including homeowners and people currently looking to buy a property. The research was carried out by Censuswide Research on behalf of Aviva in August 2016.

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