A new home for Christmas

Despite spring being widely regarded as the most popular time of year to move, the hectic 12-week run-up to Christmas is still a busy period for house buyers with nearly one in four (22%) getting the keys to their new home at this time of year.

Rather than waiting until the spring, Alliance & Leicester Mortgages’ Movingimproving Index found one in twelve (8%) were willing to move during December – traditionally a month of party planning, present-buying and family visits.

Pre-Christmas movers are confident money managers, with more than half (53%) saying the upheaval and expense did not affect their festive budgeting. One in 10 (10%) said they had saved to cover their seasonal spending earlier in the year in preparation for the move, nearly one in 10 (9%) said they had deliberately planned to cutback on Christmas during the year of their move. One in five (19%) admitted they had not budgeted enough for Christmas and just 2% said they had to rely on credit cards or loans to bankroll their Christmas budgets.

Stephen Leonard, Director of Mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, says:“With so many people moving into their new homes during the run-up to Christmas it can feel like a rush to get the family settled and the new furniture ordered before December 25th. But it is very encouraging to see many people are planning ahead to budget for their moving costs and saving in advance to ensure it doesn’t have a big impact on their Christmas. Clearly planning ahead, budgeting and saving are the key to a less stressful move.”

Regional variations

One in six (15%) Scots said they prepared in advance to ensure they spent less during the Christmas following their move. This compares to just one in 25 (4%) movers from Wales and South West England.

Nearly one in three (29%) movers from Wales and the South West said they had not budgeted enough for the period following their Christmas move – compared to a national average of less than one in five (19%).

Movers from the South East faced the longest wait between getting their offer accepted and completion, with one in four (24%) waiting between four and six months to get the keys to their new home – compared to less than one in 10 (8%) in Scotland.