6.5 million UK homeowners regret their purchase. What would they do differently?

More than a third of UK homeowners say they regret buying their home, or would make different decisions if they could do it again. Among younger buyers, that figure is nearly two-thirds.

Those are striking numbers. But the reasons behind them are more useful than the headline, because they point to problems that are largely avoidable.

The numbers

Research by the HomeOwners Alliance found that 37% of UK homeowners regret their property purchase. That’s roughly 6.5 million people.

The breakdown by age is revealing:

• 63% of 18–34 year olds report regrets (nearly double the national average)
• 51% of London homeowners say they would make different choices
• 10% of London buyers regret purchasing a leasehold property (double the UK average of 4%)

The top reasons for regret among younger buyers were underestimating costs (29%), dissatisfaction with the location (27%), compromising on space (17%), and issues with new builds (10%).

The cost problem is bigger than the mortgage

The most common regret, underestimating costs, isn’t about the property price itself. It’s about everything around it.

16% of younger homeowners said they didn’t account for the costs of actually buying: solicitor fees, surveys, stamp duty, moving costs, and the various charges that appear between offer and completion. Another 16% were caught out by renovation and maintenance costs after moving in.This is a planning problem, not a market problem. The information exists, it’s just not presented clearly enough at the point when buyers need it. Most first-time buyers don’t know what conveyancing costs, what a survey costs, or how much stamp duty they’ll pay until they’re already committed.

Location regret is a research problem

27% of younger buyers regret their location. That’s a significant number, and it suggests many buyers aren’t spending enough time researching the area before committing to a property.

It’s easy to fall in love with a house and overlook the neighbourhood. But the things that matter day-to-day, commute times, school quality, flood risk, noise levels, local amenities, planned developments are all researchable before you make an offer.

The problem is that this information is scattered across dozens of different sources. Council planning portals, Environment Agency flood maps, school league tables, transport links, crime statistics. No buyer has time to pull all of that together for every property they view.

This is one of the reasons we built property profiles the way we did. When you look up an address on Property Looker, you see the property data alongside the local data, not just what the house is, but what surrounds it.

Space compromises and the pressure to Buy

17% regretted compromising on space. In a competitive market, this is understandable, buyers feel pressure to move quickly and worry that if they hold out for the right property, they’ll be priced out entirely.

But compromising on fundamentals like space, layout, or number of bedrooms tends to create regret that grows over time rather than fading. A property that’s affordable but too small for your needs in two years is not a good deal.

The better approach is to be clear about non-negotiables before you start viewing. Know what you need versus what you want, and be willing to adjust on location or finish before you adjust on space.

New build regrets

10% of younger buyers regret buying a new build. The most common complaints tend to be snagging issues, poor build quality, and feeling that the property wasn’t worth the premium paid.

New builds can be excellent purchases but they require a different kind of due diligence. A snagging survey before completion is essential, and buyers should research the developer’s track record before committing. Warranty schemes like NHBC provide some protection, but they don’t cover everything, and making a claim can be a slow process.

Leasehold: London’s specific problem

In London, 10% of homeowners regret buying a leasehold property, double the national average. This isn’t surprising given the well-documented issues with escalating ground rents, high service charges, and the cost of lease extensions.

Leasehold reform is on the government’s agenda, but progress has been slow. For buyers, the practical advice remains: understand the lease terms before you buy, not after. Check the ground rent structure, the remaining lease length, the service charge history, and whether a lease extension has already been factored into the price.

If the lease is under 80 years, factor in the cost of extending it, because you’ll almost certainly need to, and it gets significantly more expensive below that threshold.

What would actually prevent these regrets?

The common thread across these regrets is information, or the lack of it, at the right time.

Buyers who understand the full costs upfront don’t get blindsided by fees. Buyers who research the area properly don’t regret the location. Buyers who commission a survey and read it carefully are less likely to inherit hidden problems.

None of this is complicated. But the buying process in England and Wales does a poor job of putting the right information in front of buyers at the right stage. You can legally commit to a purchase without ever having seen a survey, without understanding the lease, and without researching the area beyond a 20-minute viewing.

The buyers who avoid regret tend to be the ones who slow down just enough to do the research, even when the market is telling them to rush.

What to do before you buy

If you’re in the process of buying, or thinking about it, a few things are worth doing early:

• Budget for the full cost of buying, not just the deposit and mortgage. Solicitor fees, surveys, stamp duty, moving costs, and an initial maintenance buffer. Expect £5,000–£15,000 on top of your deposit depending on the property.
• Research the area before you fall in love with a house. Look up flood risk, planning applications, local schools, transport links, and recent sold prices in the street. All of this is available if you know where to look.
• Get a survey. Not just the mortgage valuation, a proper homebuyer survey or building survey depending on the property’s age and condition. It costs a few hundred pounds and could save you thousands.
• If it’s leasehold, read the lease. Check the ground rent, service charge, remaining term, and any restrictions. Ask your solicitor to explain anything you don’t understand.
• Don’t compromise on fundamentals under pressure. A property that’s wrong for your needs is still wrong even if it’s affordable.

Property Looker brings together property data, local area information, and risk signals to help buyers make more informed decisions. Look up any UK property to see what the data shows before you commit.