Fewer than one in 10 homebuyers, or 9.7%, instructed a home survey with their recent property purchase, new findings from Countrywide Surveying Services’ (CSS) Home Survey Trends Index for Q1 2024 has revealed.
This statistic included those who took out a RICS Home Survey Level 2, RICS Home Survey Level 2 with valuation and RICS Home Survey Level 3.
Three-fifths (61%) of buyers commissioned the RICS Home Survey Level 2, with a third (33%) taking out a RICS Home Survey Level 2 with valuation, and 6% opting for a RICS Home Survey Level 3.
For those homebuyers electing for a RICS Home Survey Level 2 or a RICS Home Survey Level 2 with valuation, the average property price for both survey types was £283,000, with an average £403 fee and £439 respectively.
For those homebuyers selecting a RICS Home Survey Level 3, the average property price was £407,000, with an average £854 fee for this survey type.
On a regional basis, the largest uptake in a RICS Home Survey Level 2 and RICS Home Survey Level 2 with valuation was in the North West, at 15.5% and 15.6% respectively.
The largest uptake for a RICS Home Survey Level 3 was in the South East at 14.7%.
In contrast, the lowest uptake for a RICS Home Survey Level 2 was in the North East (5.7%), with the fewest for a RICS Home Survey Level 2 with valuation being reported in East Anglia and Wales – both regions registered 6.5%.
The lowest uptake for a RICS Home Survey Level 3 was in the North at 3.3%.
Matthew Cumber (pictured), managing director at Countrywide Surveying Services, said: “The fact that fewer than one in 10 property purchases had a Level 2 Survey or above in Q1 2024 presents a highly alarming statistic.
“It is a figure which leaves a huge number of buyers open to immediate or future risks, unforeseen costs, disruption and upset on what remains one of the most complex and emotive financial journeys they are ever likely to embark upon.
“Due to a sustained lack of awareness, a survey can often be viewed as an additional cost rather than an integral one.
“The thing homebuyers need to bear in mind is that opting for the right survey could actually save them time, money, and heartache.
“The cost can often be a fraction of the potential expense from work which needs to be completed on the property which was not identified before contracts are signed.”
He added: “As an industry, we have a duty of care to outline the value attached to the quality of information held within a relevant survey and in the delivery of good customer outcomes while adhering to Consumer Duty guidelines.
“This is an ongoing challenge and we, as a business, will remain at the forefront of.”
