Each year the Office for National Statistics (ONS) asks people to rate their happiness (the extent to which they consider their life useful and fulfilling).
According to the latest findings, owning a property is the key to happiness. The ONS looked into the biggest contributors to British life satisfaction and homeowners reported a greater sense of wellbeing than renters. Those who own a property with or without a mortgage have a higher level of life satisfaction.
With regards to renting, those who rent in the private rather than social sector are more satisfied with their lives, but this can also be attributed to other factors such as employment and health.
Compared to Europe, here in the UK we place much more importance on owning a property and is very much something we all aspire to.
The biggest impact on happiness is good health with younger people reporting higher levels of satisfaction. However, this falls in middle age before rising in later years. Those who were retired were the happiest whilst, unsurprisingly, those who were unemployed or too unwell to work were the least satisfied.
Being in a civil partnership or married led to the highest levels of happiness and rather than earnings, happiness was higher in those who had a high level of household spending. So although someone may earn a high wage in London, much of this will be spent on living costs. Here in Scotland, the cost of living is much lower given the affordability of property and mortgages, and as a result people often have a higher level of disposable income leading to higher levels of happiness.
Overall, we are significantly happier than we were in 2015 and happiness levels are what they were before the financial crash.
Clyde Property is a leading independent, multiple award-winning estate and letting agent with 30 years’ experience in selling and letting property in Scotland. Just contact your local branch today, for friendly, impartial advice on buying or selling a home.