Home really is where the heart is
We may be living in an ever more mobile society but when it comes to settling down Brits still don't appear to be ‘falling far from the tree'. New research for Santander Mortgages has found that a third of British adults (31%) now live in the town where they grew up, and nearly two thirds (63%) still live within 50 miles of their childhood home.
Displaying even stronger loyalty to where they grew up, nearly one in five adults (17%) has never moved away from their home town or city.
Some of us, though, have a stronger affinity to where we grew up than others. The idea of the proud Yorkshireman seems to be ringing true, with those in Yorkshire and Humberside almost twice as likely as those in the South East and the East of England to be living in the towns where they grew up; 41% of people in Yorkshire and Humberside are currently living in their childhood town, compared to just 22% and 19% in the South East and East of England respectively.
Those in Northern Ireland, though, display by far the most home town loyalty - 61% of people in the region have chosen to settle near home.
Phil Cliff, Director of Mortgages at Santander, said: "Santander prides itself on being the ‘Home of UK Mortgages', and is always looking at different ways in which we can help all homebuyers - wherever they chose to settle in the UK. In the first quarter of 2010 alone, we lent one in five mortgages increasing our share of the mortgage market and proving to borrowers that we are a strong and consistent lender, focused on offering customers a variety of value for money products. Our latest offering of fee-free mortgages and £100 cashback on our home insurance to loyal current account customers could help them save up to £1,095 while our 2 year tracker mortgage at 2.49 per cent with a £995 booking fee offers an excellent deals for new customers."
The main factor affecting people's choice of where they live is being close to family and friends, cited by 39% of people questioned. Almost three in 10 (28%) of people are influenced by work-related reasons and 20% are swayed by the affordability of the area. More than one in 10 (11%) simply like being close to the place they grew up.
The research for Santander Mortgages looked at renters and home owners and found that those currently living in their first owned property were the most likely to stick close to the nest with 38% of first-time buyers being attracted to the familiarity of their childhood home town. While, at the same time, nearly three-quarters of them (72%) live no more than 50 miles from where they grew up.
Santander Mortgages is currently offering fee-free mortgages and £100 cashback on our home insurance available in our branches, and through the telephone, to our loyal current account customers which could save them up to £1,095. In addition Santander continues to provide competitive deals for new customers such as our 2 year tracker mortgage at 2.49 per cent with a £995 booking fee. Borrowers should visit their local Santander or Alliance & Leicester branch, our give us a call, to take advantage of this great deal.