A third of first time buyers would have reconsidered their decision if they had had more information on the area before they moved in according to new research from Virgin.
The research found that around half of home owners said they only found out about the negative things in their area after they had moved in, and by which time it was too late. In addition, 32 per cent of first time buyers, and a fifth of all
home owners, felt that they were not provided with enough advance warning about the down side of an area before they moved in.
The most frequent complaints are from noisy neighbours, people speeding on
busy roads, intimidating gangs of youths, and having no decent amenities nearby.
The research was based on questions posed to home owners and estate agents about what makes an area up and coming, how they spot prosperous areas and the top turn-offs of a bad neighbourhood. The full results are to be published as The Cappuccino Test Report.
Other findings included confidence in house prices as over half of homeowners questioned said that they think prices will continue to rise, but
at a slower rate, and a quarter of them think they will continue to rise at
the same rate for the foreseeable future.
James Duffell, spokesman for Virgin One, and commissioner of the research, said: "You often hear people saying an area's 'up and coming' but it's always been a bit of an abstract concept. We have tried to gain an insight into how people define a neighbourhood as up and coming, desirable or downright unappealing. It would appear that some estate agents may need to do a bit more homework on their local area if they want to impress their clients and make the most of the 'up and coming' tag.
"And we recommend that home owners do as much research as they can before they commit to buying in an area, to try and avoid the unexpected."
