Almost three quarters of potential homeowners worry about local crime rates when they’re looking to buy a house.
This fear means the number of house sales falling through each year in the UK amounts to 29,000. That’s £6.6bn worth of property.
What’s more, one in seven estate agents believe that local crime rates are becoming an increasing issue for prospective home buyers.
The results of this new study, conducted by Churchill, is not unsurprising when the total number of reported crimes across the UK rose by 12% between 2014 and 2018. That’s 15,800 crimes every day or 11 every minute.
When you learn this, the fact that 69% of would-be homeowners are fearful about crime in the local area becomes less of a shock. Still, that percentage amounts to 800,000 people across the UK and this has caused a very real issue in the property market.
Going even further than this, research by TheAdvisory has shown that 36% of Brits would expect to pay less for a house if it sat in a high crime rate area. Nearly half, 47%, of 2,000 people polled said they would not buy a property in an area with a high crime rate.
A low crime rate also played a direct role in deciding the apparent best place to buy a house in the UK, which came out as North Kesteven District Council in Lincolnshire, the Express reported.
Agents estimate that just over 2% of all UK house sales end up falling through because the prospective owner is concerned about crime around the place they wanted to buy.
This adds up to a total of 29,082 property deals failing every year, the equivalent to 80 homes each day and £6.6 billion.
The study also looked into exactly what type of crime potential house buyers are worried about.
Local burglary rates caused the most fear among people looking to buy, with 77% of people concerned about this and 11% falling into the category of extremely concerned.
A close second was local drug rates, 76% of people were fearful of, and then it was local assault rates, which troubled 74% of people.
Local property vandalism rates worried 71% of potential homeowners and the thought of their vehicle getting vandalised was an issue for 70% of this group. Car theft rates bothered 66% of the group of hopeful homeowners assessed.
When speaking to estate agents on the subject, around 15% think crime in the local area is becoming more and more of a concern for hopeful house buyers.
Craig Rixon, head of Churchill Home Insurance said: “With crime rates rising across the UK, it is no surprise to see that this is having a detrimental knock-on effect on homebuyer confidence.
“However, this should not necessarily deter purchases of dream properties. No matter where the property is, or what the crime rates are in the area, homes should always be fitted with an appropriate level of security features, including locks, an alarm and security lights, as often burglars will look for the easiest home to enter on a street.
“For further peace of mind, it’s always necessary to have a comprehensive, up-to-date home insurance policy that covers householders in the event of them becoming a victim of a burglary.”
Tips for protecting your property
Churchill recommends doing the following to secure your house and deter criminals as far as possible.
- Get a security alarm and keep it serviced as burglars can tell if alarms are not used regularly.
- Have a plan if you’re not going to be home. If you’re away on holiday, for instance, leave the lights on, invest in timed lights or ask your neighbours to keep an eye on the house.
- Work out where the easiest points of entry to your house are and ensure they’re properly locked and secured.
- Dealing with stolen items can be hard, so make use of security features which could track your phone or tablet by ensuring they are turned on in settings.
- Don’t leave any parcels you receive outside the house.
- Finally, don’t forget the shed. You may keep expensive equipment like golf clubs or power tools in there, so ensure it has some kind of security system.
