The Best Reasons to Purchase a House Now!

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1 Interactive Marketing and Site Tools Study In the introduction to their report Competitive Strategy In The Age Of The Customer, Forrester stated In this age of the customer, the only sustainable competitive advantage is knowledge of and engagement with customers. Forrester goes on to state that Customer Obsessed enterprises must focus on four priority areas 1) real-time actionable data sharing. 2) contextualised customer experiences across touchpoints. 3) sales efforts tied to buyers processes. 4) content-led marketing and Customer interactions During May & June of 2015 team put together a publicly open Survey that was promoted on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Clearly the presence of the survey being online created a bias to those people that are technically savvy, however our statistics and those generated by the Office of National Statistics (referenced for populous comparison purposes) demonstrate that the population is in fact becoming increasingly technically savvy both in skill set and through their access to tools within the home. As the End Users of our product, our survey was targeted at past and prospective purchasers of new residential properties, resident in the UK. Our survey design took respondents on a journey, initially identifying their propensity to purchase new property, identifying key characteristics of the buying process and how these could be improved, and finally collecting high level demographic information such that the respondents en-masse could be compared to the UK population as a whole to ensure that the results were reflective. By the very nature of the Internet, our survey and the promotion of it was exposed worldwide and as a result, a small proportion (7%) were responding from outside of the United Kingdom (Europe, Africa). For the purposes of this paper and the analytics contained within it, this population has been excluded. 486 responses were gathered over a 10 day period, with 52% of these respondents indicating that they either have purchased a new property in the last 5 years, or might do so in the next 5 years. All respondents were asked for an address at the end of the process, for two reasons. Firstly, so that the results of the survey could be supplied, but secondly as a test of how many people are willing to leave contact information in such an environment, 34% of respondents provided an contact address..

2 Online Survey Results Throughout the survey respondents were asked a mix of multiple choice, grading, yes/no and questions that required the entry of their own words. Questions intentionally crossed over so as to reinforce the responses provided. Demographic information was collected towards the end of the survey and will be used to compare both to the United Kingdoms demographic data provided by the Office for National Statistics, but also to classify and categorise some of the results in order to provide a more meaningful result. Table of Contents 3 : Summary of Key Findings 4 : Survey Responses 5 : Purchasing Off Plan? 6 : About the Respondents 7 : Digital Inclusion 7 : Survey Conclusions 8 : About Us 2

3 Summary of Key Findings In the past a classical segmentation utilising sociodemographics was a reliable predictor of peoples behaviours, this is changing. Those that had access to early home computers in their childhood are now middle aged and beyond, the older generations have to an extent adopted, and the younger and up and coming generations live and breath technology. Sampling the statistical results accrued in this survey against age groups demonstrated little variation in the general results, however there was a clear indication that whilst older generations (50+) and those that have likely purchased new builds in the past would be content to purchase off-plan, the younger generations are less likely to do so. The opportunity to experience properties through other sites, or the provision of a technological solution was seen as game-changers to these age groups. Asking respondents to rank a range of options on their level of importance when purchasing a new home Build Quality ranked highest, closely followed by Price and Location. At the bottom of the scale was a presence on Social Media, followed by Supplied Literature and Optional Extras. Office For National Statistics - UK Internet Access (2014) 91% of households have broadband Internet connections 76% of the population (38 Million adults) access the Internet every day, up from 21 Million in % of adults bought goods or services online, up from 53% in of every 10 adults accessing the Internet, do so with a handheld device (mobile, portable, tablet) 73% of all adults use the internet to research goods and services, up from 58% in 2007 NHBC Registrations Whilst still not at a level comparable to 2007, the new build residential market is steadily improving by volume. This seems to be continuing with NHBC s Q1 statistics demonstrating an 18% increase on the same period It is unlikely that this level of increase will be maintained through the year, however an 18% increase would put 2015 at in excess of 170,000, a more likely increase of 10% would mean 160,000 new properties, in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Oxford Internet Surveys - UK Internet Use (2013) The following statistics demonstrate the growth that is being experienced from 2013, through to the ONS statistics above in 2014 Use of Internet-enabled devices has increased sharply: 37% of households now have access to a tablet (26% in 2011) and 27% to an e-reader (7% in 2011) Accessing the Internet on the move has also increased sharply: 57% of Internet users access the Internet while on the move in

4 2014 Survey Responses Question: Have you in the last 5 years, or might you in the next HMRC: 1,047,000 Property Purchases 5 years purchase a brand new house? Our initial questioning revolved around a respondents propensity to purchase a new build property, with our question simply completed by individuals. NHBC: 145,174 New Build Property Sales Completed. 13.8% asking whether they had purchased a new build within the last 5 years, or may do so in the next 5. There was only a marginal difference in the split, with 52% of our respondents indicating in the positive and the marginally smaller grouping of 48% indicating no recent history or plan to purchase in the near future. Through the questions asked we are able to further break this down by age groups, however with such a close split on the top level question the differences of no more than 1% between those in each age groupings is seen. Across the Age Groups themselves there is a trend that shows an increase in the propensity to purchase a new property through up to the age group at which point the numbers drop off by 40% in the next age banding and a further 33% beyond that. It has to be acknowledged here that our results are Internet based and it could therefore be argued that our age group bandings are distorted as a result. It is clear however that apart from a small distortion in the middle range, the age groups of our respondents are reflective of society as a whole, based on statistics from the ONS and the most recent UK Census. Observations 52% of respondents either have been or are New Build Prospects. Less than 14% of Residential Property Transactions related to New Build in % 12% 15% 9% 6% 52% 9% 11% 14% 8% 6% 48% Under 30 19% % % % Over 60 12% 4

5 Purchasing Off Plan? Question: Would you purchase a new property off-plan? Having established a propensity to purchase, we asked our respondents if they would consider purchasing a property that had not yet been built, i.e. off-plan. An important dynamic of a sites makeup, selling property offplan demonstrates a population and a desire to live in an area as the houses are completed. A large portion of people (63%) indicated that they would indeed purchase a property that either had not yet been built, or was only partially built. Whilst excellent news for the industry as a whole, the reverse side is that 37% would not purchase a property off plan. Whilst this statistic is weighted in the right direction, 37% is a large portion of the house buying populous, and whether we talk about the 145,000 properties built in 2014, 160,000 predicted for 2015, or the 240,000 targeted build volumes this equates to 53,650, 59,200 or 88,800 properties respectively. Whilst indicating a no to purchasing off-plan the result of our next question, asked only of those people that said no, was even more telling. Question: If you had the opportunity to explore your house, either at an alternate site, or through a technical solution, would this give you sufficient confidence to purchase off-plan? The answer to this was an unequivocal and 100% yes, our respondents made it clear that not being able to experience a property was a show stopper for them, but that having the opportunity to experience the property would provide them with the confidence to purchase off plan. There was a marginal preference for physical interaction with a comparable property on another site, however all respondents falling to this category were also happy with the concept of a technical experience whether that be flythrough movies or a more immersive and interactive experience that we described as a game like experience. Question: If a technical solution was provided, a game like experience, would other functions help you? A range of options were provided and our respondents were asked to rate their usefulness based on a 1-5 scale where 1 was the function of most use, and 5 the least. One feature stood out as 100% of respondents ranked this either as the first or second most important feature, and this was being able to access individual properties anywhere on a site, and see not only the features within the property but the positioning of the property and what could be seen from its windows. Whilst a stand out feature from its high popularity, this feature in fact came in 3rd when looking purely at the highest rankings, with being able to explore the site at will being ranked top, and being able to adjust decorations, or developer options within the model of a property being 2nd. We also asked our respondents to suggest features that we hadn't listed in our survey that they might find useful, some of which we have listed here Furniture Placement This is something we provide Features of the surrounding area Presence of through a toggle option, with the default setting being on, schools, refuse sites, cinemas, gyms etc are provided so demonstrating a property with furniture included. through the Regional Map Placement of light switches, plug sockets etc Likely costs for electricity, gas & council tax 5

6 About the Respondents For any survey, it is important that the results are reflective of the society that it is trying to represent. With this in mind, we included within our survey a number of questions to allow the comparison of demographic information independent bodies such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Census data. This page will look to present some of these findings along with some commentary in order to demonstrate matches and deviations from what society as a whole looks like. Age Groupings Due to the requirements of the survey, the Age Groupings that we utilised did not match those typically engaged by the ONS or Census bodies. However once consolidated, and ignoring those such as the under 20 s it is possible to demonstrate a comparison. Apart from the middle age grouping, our results were within 10% of both ONS and Census results. Household Residents To further demonstrate that our respondents reflect the general population, we gathered the number of people resident in the house of a Respondent, and compared these to the ONS statistics from the 2011 Census. Tracking within a 5% margin for the 1, 2 & 3 occupant groupings, our respondents exceed the Census results in both 4 and 5+ groups. Educational Standards Standards across the UK differ dramatically, both geographically and when split further by Age Group. As our survey was national, we have taken a comparison against the Office for National Statistics from the 2011 Census, data released in There are differences, for instance the ONS data is for England and Wales only, and includes adults from the Age of 15, our Survey is UK wide, and excludes anyone under 20, likely explains the imbalance between GCSE & A-Level seen. 6

7 Digital Inclusion The UK Governments own digital inclusion programme identifies subsets of society that are digitally disadvantaged either by circumstances or by a belief that participation is not required. In the words of their website We need to make digital engagement appealing to everyone, if we want to realise our ambitions of making the UK the most digitally inclusive nation. To do this, it s crucial that we focus our effort on reducing digital divides rather than simply focussing on quick wins - or, we risk perpetuating inequalities. Survey Conclusions The UK Population is evolving, both in its approach to technology and the way in which it purchases property. For existing residential property, gone are the days when Estate Agents high street stores were king, we now surf the web not the high street looking for our next house likely landing at Right Move. And once there, we want to see it, and explore it before we set foot outside of our current home. This is easily achieved for an existing property, standard stills and floor plans, along with 360 degree panoramic room shots can be presented on Right Move or on the Estate Agents own website. But for new builds its more difficult the houses don t yet exist, even if the show homes do, that s 1 or 2 of 8 or 9 different house styles that are on a site. Artists impressions are great, they go a long way to demonstrating what the house might look like, but they are as they are called, artist impressions and are typically of a single perspective. Recent press has indicated a need to generate 245,000 new properties a year, with 145,000 properties built in 2014, and the predicted ,000 that will be built in 2016, this equates to a 50% increase in build volumes. Build volumes are increasing, however at a rate of 7-10% per annum. 40% of respondents to our survey indicated they would not purchase off plan, with 100% of that group indicating that they might be convinced if they could experience the house they were purchasing either by visiting an alternate site in the local area, or by utilising a computerised solution to walk around the site as if playing a computer game. #BuildAccelerate #BuildEnhance #BuildOneUp So as our results conclude, we have three questions for you to ponder If you could sell more properties off-plan could this support an acceleration of your build program? Tweet #BuildAccelerate If you could enhance the buying process such that a prospects decision was easier, would that help? Tweet #BuildEnhance Or would it simply be great to be one up on the competition, without spending any extra money? Tweet #BuildOneUp 7

8 About Us has developed a fully serviced hardware and software solution, that allows an object to be explored in 3Dimensional Virtual Reality, whilst not ground breaking in itself, it is when you consider the way in which we do it, and the markets that we are targeting. Utilising a range of hardware from large format display screens, to PC's, laptops, tablets and smartphones, a range of input devices from touch sensitive, to keyboard entry, and extendable to gesture sensing that the revolutionary Leap Motion interface brings to market, we are able to present the correct tool to the correct environment at the correct time, allowing the people that need to use it to have the most appropriate interface. Our software allows us to deploy your model, and our interface to any or all of these devices, depending on your requirements, whether it be 80 new houses that a Residential Developer is putting up that need to be marketed nationally, a new commercial space or office refurbishment that has potential internationally, a large Shopping Centre that need some guide aids both on site and downloadable to tablet computers, or a Museum that wants to reach the masses beyond their core visitors allowing them to download the exhibitions onto their tablet computers for a fee that they get back should they visit the physical museum. c/o Dignitas Ltd Central Boulevard Telephone Blythe Valley Business Park Solihull B90 8AG enquiries@thecompleteview.co.uk Reference Materials Forrester Report: Office for National Statistics - Internet Access : Office for National Statistics - Education Standards : Office for National Statistics - Household Residents : -and-household-estimates--for-local-authorities-in-the-united-kingdom/stb-population-and-household-estimates-for-the-united-kingdom-march html#tab-Number-of-people-in-households Government Digital Service : Oxford Internet Surveys : HMRC Annual UK Property Transactions : NHBC : thecompleteview.co.uk twitter.com/thecompleteview linkedin.com/company/the-complete-view Unauthorized use, duplication, or modification of this document in whole or in part without the written consent of Ltd (TCV) is strictly prohibited. By providing this document, TCV is not making any representations regarding the correctness or completeness of its contents and reserves the right to alter this document at any time without notice. Features listed in this document are subject to change. Not all functionality is available in all deployments, please contact TCV for current features and specifications Ltd. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. 7