People prepared to pay more for house with good neighbours

According to a new study published this week by Lloyds TSB Insurance, people in Britain are prepared to pay an extra £3,100 for a home with good neighbours.

A national barometer developed in order to undertake the study ranks Britain’s biggest cities against five different objective measures of ‘neighbourliness’ – consideration, tolerance, friendliness, tidiness and vigilance.

According to the study, these attributes can affect how much people are prepared to pay for a house, with potential buyers willing to spend significantly more for the guarantee of agreeable neighbours.

The city of Bradford leads the nationals rankings with the most considerate and tolerant neighbours. Glasgow has the friendliest, Swansea hosts the tidiest and Manchester is home to the most vigilant locals.

The study also shows the effect of poor neighbourly relations. Stockport reports the most incidents of neighbour-inflicted damage and it is estimated that, nationally, neighbour actions and vandalism have cost homeowners more than £2.5 billion. These incidents typically cost £312 per job to put right.

A positive step towards building a strong community is to join the local Neighbourhood Watch scheme. Figures show that nearly half (42 per cent) of Neighbourhood Watch members enjoy good community relations, compared to under a third (28 per cent) of non-members.

The research results were published as Lloyds TSB Home Insurance launched its victims of crime excess waiver, which removes the excess for new and renewing Lloyds TSB Home Solutions customers who need to claim for criminal damage. The offer runs until May 2011.

Paula Llewellyn, spokesperson for Lloyds TSB Insurance said:

“Good neighbours can have an invaluable impact on our wellbeing and can help keep our property safe while away from home.

“As we understand that we can’t all have the perfect neighbours to keep an eye on our property, Lloyds TSB Home Solutions now waives the excess for victims of crime, so homeowners can rest assured that if the worst happens they won’t be out of pocket.”