Lockdown has changed the way people feel about their homes with not everyone wanting to move away from their current neighbourhoods and escape to the country. Although space is very much front of mind, so is the value of communities with 1 in 4 homeworkers admitting they now prefer their local area since working from home, despite many amenities being closed or limited during the lockdown.
In the current climate, and with 1.8 million households on a mortgage holiday, the widely reported movement towards larger, more spacious homes is simply impossible for many homeowners. Furthermore, for anyone who is trying to make a move, increasingly stringent checks are being placed on mortgage applications. Lenders are more reluctant to use variable income such as bonuses and overtime) and estate agents are beginning to demand financial arrangements be guaranteed before accepting offers. With so many obstacles and challenges, unsurprisingly, the British public are keen to ‘love it’ rather than ‘list it’ at the current time.
Staying put doesn’t necessarily mean not improving though. Unsurprisingly, those living in London and the younger 18-34 year-old age group proved to be the most notable audience wanting to upgrade their home, with 37% and 29% respectively interested in remortgaging their home for improvement purposes. The top six home improvements were:
- A kitchen refit (26%)
- A bathroom refit (23%)
- Having their garden landscaped (22%)
- Building an extension (16%)
- Having a large garden (9%)
- Creating a home office (8%)
Not only that, but research shows that 30% of parents revealed they have found home-schooling difficult during the pandemic and many may welcome the money saved through remortgage to employ a tutor for their children while the schools remain closed.
To assist those feeling the pinch, online mortgage broker Trussle has created a remortgage calculator that equates things like tutoring, zipcar hours and saving towards UK based holidays to an individual’s possible remortgage savings.
Miles Robinson, Head of Mortgages at Trussle comments: “As the UK begins to emerge from the Coronavirus lockdown into a new normality, the mortgage market is re-opening. Meanwhile, our research shows that a number of homeowners are reconsidering what they think is important in a home and considering how they can improve their current living situation to suit their needs.
In response to the clear shift in homeowners’ priorities, Trussle saw a 110% leap in enquiries for remortgages from April 2019 to April 2020 as home owners look to save more money during these uncertain times. Our newly launched remortgage calculator will tell you, quickly and easily, how much you could save. And it doesn’t stop there: the calculator will also show you how the money you save could impact the quality of your current home life by calculating the products and services you could purchase if you remortgaged.
Depending on your life’s priorities, use Trussle’s remortgage calculator to see how much you could gain.”
