Community and cost the biggest draws for park home buyers

The latest industry insight from park home selling specialists, Quickmove Properties, has lifted the lid on just who the average park home buyer is, why they opted for a park home purchase and how they have benefited as a result. 

The survey of current park home owners to have purchased via Quickmove found that the average park home resident is 67 years old. Notably, the youngest respondent is aged 50 and the oldest aged 84, thus highlighting park home living to be a popular option for both semi-retirement and retirement life stages.

When asked why they decided to move to a park home, the vast majority (63%) cited the more relaxing lifestyle on offer, with a fifth (20%) also stating that the cost of living in a bricks and mortar home was simply too high, while the strain of maintaining a bricks and mortar home was also a factor (7%).

Cost was also an influential factor when it came to choosing which park home development they wanted to live on. When asked which factors influenced this decision, the availability of park home stock ranked top (23%), followed by the price (20%) and the affordability of site fees (19%). 

However, the presence of an established community also ranked high (13%), as did the proximity of their park home purchase from either the coast or the countryside (12%) and the availability of local amenities (11%). 

Previous research by Quickmove Properties found that the average park home buyer is releasing £128,000 in bricks and mortar equity when making their move, so how are they using it? 

Well just over a quarter (27%) are opting to invest or save their hard earned nest egg, 18% opted to splash out on a holiday, 17% used it to boost their pension, 11% paid off their outstanding loans, and 10% gifted money to their family. 

Sales Director at Quickmove Properties, Mark O'Dwyer, commented:

"When it comes to the most appealing factors driving a move to the modern park home lifestyle, the affordability of a park home, along with the personal and financial freedom they provide, are themes that feature throughout the results of our buyer survey. 

Whether it's the more relaxing lifestyle on offer, the benefit of released equity from an existing property, being near to some beautiful coastal or countryside areas, or indeed the ready made community feel, there's plenty of benefits to a park home purchase. 

Hardly surprising then, that the market has seen a dramatic increase in size since the pandemic, increasing by 15% in the last year alone."