Royal Mail : It takes 720 hours to make a house a home

On average, it takes 720 hours (a month) for a new house to feel like a home, according to new Royal Mail Redirection research released today.
Men settled down quicker (a month) than women who took three months. Nearly one in ten women (7%) said they still don't feel at home in their current property.

Putting up family photos (37%), receiving mail addressed to you (34%) and cooking the first meal in the kitchen (33%) are the tasks that help us feel at ease in a new home.

TOP TEN NEW HOME HACKS

1. Putting family photos on the wall (37%)
2. Receiving mail addressed to you in your new address (34%)
3. Cooking your first meal in the kitchen (33%)
4. Installing WiFi and/or TV (29%)
5. Snuggling under blankets watching TV (25%)
6. Opening the front door for the first time with the key (22%)
7. First time cleaning the house (20%)
8. Attaching the new key to your key ring (18%)
9. When any alterations are complete (17%)
10. First name terms with the neighbours (17%)

Installing Wi-Fi and TV makes 18 to 24-year-olds feel at home (49%), while putting family photos on the wall works for 25 to 44-year-olds (40% of 25 to 34-year-olds and 39% of 35 to 44-year-olds).

For renters putting up family pictures (42%) is the key while property owners saw mail addressed to them on the doormat (33%) as the turning point.

Jim Conning, Managing Director of Data Services, at Royal Mail, said: 'Moving into a new home produces a mix of emotions from fear to happiness. Displaying familiar objects, looking at familiar faces and seeing your name on mail are simple and relatively quick, ways to settle in.'

It takes movers a month (21%) to unpack all their belongings. The Welsh unpack the quickest; putting out all their stuff within a week (21%) while home movers in the North West don't unpack for 12 months (6%).

Once unpacked and in, it takes more than 2 years for any renovations to take place. Home movers in Northern Ireland spend the longest time perfecting their home. Almost a third of people interviewed in the region (32%) said that their alterations had taken more than 2 years. At the other end of the scale, people in Scotland (23%) took just a month to spruce up their homes.

On average, people spend £7,859.82 renovating a new home. Women spend £39.38 more than men (£7,878.76 compared to £7,839.38) on home alterations. Around the country, home movers in the South East spend the most; £9,116.78 on average. While in East Anglia they spend just £6,883.90 to ensure their new home is up to their standard. The first alterations on the to-do list are decorating the living room (19%), painting and decorating (13%) and buying new furniture (11%).

Ends

ISSUED BY
Royal Mail press office
Rebecca Maund
0203 338 1007
rebecca.maund@royalmail.com

Notes to editors
¹The research was undertaken by OnePoll who questioned 2,000 UK adults

About Royal Mail plc
Royal Mail plc is the parent company of Royal Mail Group Limited, the leading provider of postal and delivery services in the UK and the UK's designated universal postal service provider. UK Parcels, International and Letters ('UKPIL') comprises the company's UK and international parcels and letters delivery businesses operating under the 'Royal Mail' and 'Parcelforce Worldwide' brands. Through the Royal Mail Core Network, the company delivers a one-price-goes-anywhere service on a range of parcels and letters products. Royal Mail has the capability to deliver to more than 29 million addresses in the UK, six days a week (excluding UK public holidays). Parcelforce Worldwide operates a separate UK network which collects and delivers express parcels. Royal Mail also owns General Logistics Systems (GLS) which operates one of the largest ground-based, deferred parcel delivery networks in Europe.