According to a report into house buying from Scottish Widows:
* One in three (8.7 million) would-be buyers have had a purchase fall through
* One in eight (3.3 million) buyers say they have been 'gazumped'
* Half a million potential home owners have had a property fall through because they hadn't pre-arranged a mortgage
* Two-thirds (66%) of homeowners spent 30 minutes or less viewing the property they bought
* Almost half (46%) of buyers purchased their current home with at most one viewing
One in three people in Britain (8.7million people) fall foul of the property game as they see the homes of the dreams fall through according to a new study. The Preparation Nation report by Scottish Widows also reveals that would-be home buyers in this country are hit hardest when it comes to buying property as the true extent of the gazumping crisis in the UK comes to light.
According to the European wide study, Britain is hit the hardest by the 'property roulette' as 3.3 million buyers get gazumped as they wait to get on, or move up, the property ladder. Whilst other countries suffer the same 'unofficial bidding' approach, we top the league, despite gazumping being applicable only to people buying property in England and Wales.
Whilst the saying goes 'An Englishman's home is his castle' the Preparation Nation study also shows that when choosing our next dwelling, we invest relatively little time on the buying process, considering the size and value of the purchase. More than one in ten (11%) now buy a property without a single viewing, and over a third (35%) view it only once. Time spent viewing property for the majority (66%) of us is just 30 minutes or less.
