Compare loans, mortgages, credit cards, insurance, gas and electricity, heating, phone and broadband deals

Survey reveals fantasy home viewing

12:12am Tuesday 7th July 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share

Nearly half of Britons have looked around properties they cannot afford as they fantasise their dream home, a survey showed.

Around 47% of people admitted they had arranged viewings on properties that were out of their price range, while a fifth of people said they had looked only at homes they could not afford when doing internet searches.

More than half of people said they viewed expensive properties because they liked looking at where they could live if they won the lottery, according to property website PropertyLive.co.uk.

But the practice of looking at homes beyond their reach made 34% of people feel jealous, angry and bitter, with only 8% saying they still felt happy about their current home after going on a fantasy viewing.

Peter Bolton King, the chief executive of the National Federation of Property Professionals, said: "There is little harm in looking at properties outside your price range as a means of escapism and there are some fantastic deals to be had in the current market.

"But buyers need to be realistic about their budget especially when they take their first steps on the property ladder otherwise they face considerable disappointment when they actually find a property within their price range."

• Print
• Email
• Share