Home truth...the happiest Britons are over-55s who have done up their houses
14ft! Is this highest back garden flower?
PROPERTY owners who have invested in their homes over the years are significantly happier than those who rent, according to a survey.
More than 80 per cent of people who bought a property and then spent time and money over the years improving it described themselves as content.
This is in contrast to just 54 per cent of tenants who said the same thing, found the poll by an estate agent.
And there was also a clear difference between older and younger homeowners who perhaps do not yet have the money to modernise or decorate their house.
Those aged 55-plus are twice as likely to be “very happy” with their property compared to any other age group, with 85 per cent saying so.
But the younger generation is three times more likely to be “dissatisfied” with how their home looks – 17 per cent – compared to over-55s – five per cent.
Those aged 25 to 34 are the least likely to be “very happy” with their properties, with just 16 per cent saying so. However, the survey of 2,104 adults found overall that almost three-quarters – 73 per cent – of Britons are happy with their properties, with just one in 12 “falling out of love” with his or her home.
Tenants were also much more likely to be unhappy with their current property.
One in five private renters said he or she was either “fairly unhappy” or “very unhappy”, compared to fewer than eight per cent of owners who said the same.
This suggests that tenants are more than twice as likely to be unhappy with their homes.
Nick Marr is co-founder of the online estate agent TheHouseShop.com, which commissioned the survey.
He said: “It’s excellent to see that the vast majority of the Great British public are happy with their homes.
“However it was worrying to see such a clear divide between homeowners and renters in the happiness stakes.
“With a lot of negative press for the private rented sector recently and campaign groups such as Shelter and Generation Rent calling for better standards and protection for tenants – it is perhaps not surprising to find that 21 per cent of renters are unhappy with their home.
Soaring
“For homeowners, the commitment to a property is much more permanent than for renters, and buyers will spend a lot of time and effort choosing their ideal property and carrying out improvement works over the years to perfect it.
“Tenants, on the other hand, are rarely allowed to make even superficial changes or improvements to their homes, so it is highly unlikely that they will ever achieve the same level of happiness as the homeowners.”
Soaring property prices have made it difficult for younger people to buy their own home and many are forced to rent well into their 30s.
Values have increased seven per cent per year on average since 1980 with a huge annual increase of 25.6 per cent in 1988, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The average cost of a three-bedroom semi-detached home is now £215,847.
This property boom has also seen the number of renters increase.
Since 2002 the private rented sector has almost doubled, from 10 per cent to 19 per cent in 2014-15.
Home ownership across England peaked in April 2003, when 71 per cent of households owned their home, either outright or with a mortgage.
By February 2016 the figure had fallen to 64 per cent – the lowest since 1986, according to the think tank Resolution Foundation. AN EX-SALESMAN has grown what could be Britain’s tallest garden flower – a 14ft echium.
John Philips, 68, planted the seed two years ago and it flowered for the first time this year.
Echium pininana, also known as the “tower of jewels”, is endangered and often found in the Canary Islands.
Mr Philips believes his is the country’s tallest in a domestic garden.
He said: “It’s magnificent to look at.
“I’ve watered it a hell of a lot, a can a day, and we use natural home-made compost so I think that’s why it’s done so well.” He has four of the majestic plants in his Ilfracombe garden in Devon, three of which are 12ft.
Mr Philips said he has looked around to see if anyone can beat his achievement but has yet to find a taller one.
He said: “I’ve been driving around – there’s a couple of plants in Croyde, Ilfracombe and Minehead, but none as tall as mine.”
Echium pininana thrive in mild, maritime climates and are popular in English and Irish gardens and the clifftops of Guernsey.
An echium at the Botanic Gardens of Wales, near Carmarthen, hit 16ft this month.