30 minutes to purchase a property

Posted: 20 Mar 2006 12:31:14 GMT

Nearly two-thirds of homebuyers in the UK spend less than 30 minutes viewing the property they eventually buy, a new survey has suggested.

Research conducted by Scottish Widows found that 35 per cent of respondents spent only half an hour looking at a property, while ten per cent did not even visit the house they eventually bought.

Almost half of buyers purchased their home after only one viewing, appearing anxious, in the eyes of property experts, to secure a deal rather than shop around for better ones.

"Spending relatively little time on the property hunt doesn't seem to reflect the fact that for many of us, it is the biggest financial commitment we're ever likely to make," commented Scottish Widows' head of product development and marketing, Murdo McHardy.

Figures published today by property website Rightmove.co.uk show a 0.9 per cent increase in house prices from January to February, suggesting that buying property in a hurry is symptomatic of a seller-friendly housing market.

The report also showed that gazumping was worse in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.


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