According to a recent survey by Aviva, nearly a quarter of homebuyers paid more than the asking price when buying new homes during the pandemic. In addition, the survey showed that half of UK home buyers now regret paying over the odds for their properties.
Houses were being snapped up during the pandemic, partly fuelled by the stamp duty holiday. Many eager to purchase a home were willing to pay way above the asking price, but this is something many are now regretting. Many paid tens of thousands more than the asking price to secure the sale, but some are now questioning whether they made the right move.
Rushing into purchasing a property
Many people now believe that they rushed into the property purchase, and some described feeling a sense of urgency. Some people were putting in offers that were way higher than the asking price and then getting gazumped by someone putting in an even higher offer.
Some who made offers on properties and were then gazumped have now expressed their relief because they would otherwise have made a very costly mistake. One couple who had been looking for a property last year said, “We saw one house which attracted 50 viewings. We put in offers on houses we knew weren't right and came close to making some very big mistakes.”
The Aviva report also showed that the many people who purchased homes last year did so after just a single viewing. Many did not take the time to look at the property properly before committing. Some did not view in person and only looked at the property on a virtual viewing before putting in an offer.
In addition, 90% of buyers said they came across problems with the property once they had purchased it but had not noticed them during the viewing. This was often down to them rushing in a bid to complete the property purchase over fears that someone else would otherwise snap it up.
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