House sale data produced by Quick Move Now reveals that problems caused by residential parking in some of Britain’s largest cities including Manchester and Birmingham are leading to many home owners looking to move within the next 12 months.
Quick Move Now house cash sale transactional data for the last 12 months shows that properties with off-street parking provision take on average just 25 days to sell compared to 50 days for properties in areas where parking restrictions exist.
Highlighting the parking permit postcode lottery in different parts of the country, the survey conducted by Quick Move Now reveals that lack of parking availability in the North-West is the main motivation for moving to a new property; 34% of vendors in this area opt to sell up and move home due to parking concerns.
A quarter of households in London and the South-East (25%) have decided to sell up and move house due to parking concerns, but in contrast only 2% of vendors in the East Midlands have similar worries.
In addition, just 10% of home owners in Wales and 12% in the South West decide to sell up and move due to parking problems.
These findings follow research that shows 62% of councils issue parking permits. Birmingham and Manchester head the list of the highest annual parking permit charges in the UK followed by the London Borough of Islington. Whilst the national average cost of an annual car park permit is £59.17, Birmingham City Council and Manchester City Council both charge £750.
The research also found that parking is a bigger reason for putting up a ‘For Sale’ sign than lack of space, crime, distance to work and neighbours with many home owners looking to move home within next 12 months as a result.
A recent survey by The AA confirms the findings, suggesting that almost 1 in 4 drivers in London put off making car journeys in order to avoid losing their parking space and almost 20% of drivers nationally say they ‘always worry’ about being able to find a parking space as they approach their home. And with car ownership increasing by almost 600,000 in the last year according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, this situation is set to become more and more acute.
Quick Move Now compiled the survey of family home owners conducting a poll of almost 1,000 family home owners in England and Wales and by analysing data from house purchases undertaken by the company in the UK in the last 12 months.
Danny Luke, Quick Move Now Managing Director, said: “Our findings show that properties with off-street parking provision sell in half the time and are very attractive to prospective buyers.
With no guarantee of being able to park outside, or even near their property, and a postcode lottery determining the cost of on-street parking permits, parking is a real issue for a large proportion of UK home owners.
While it’s an inconvenience for many home owners, issues with being able to secure an on-street parking space near their property can make many homes completely inappropriate for families with young children or older home owners who are beginning to struggle with mobility. This becomes an even more significant problem when you consider the current UK property shortage.
Manchester city council charge 12 times the UK average amount for a resident parking scheme and there is clear correlation between these schemes and what triggers home owners to decide to sell up.
Faced with no guarantee of finding a space outside their property, our research and sales data show that many home owners, particularly where these issues are compounded by very high annual charges, have parking at the forefront of their minds when deciding to move home.
Whilst lack of space, distance to work, noisy neighbours, crime rate and a change in financial circumstances were more common reasons to move home in the past, lack of parking availability is now often the main motivation for moving to a new property.
Ever increasing car ownership has led to councils issuing more permits than there are spaces in some residential areas so many drivers are left with no guarantee of finding a space outside their home which can often trigger the decision to sell up and move elsewhere.”
