Having a joint mortgage is a bigger commitment than marriage, according to 40% of British adults.

New research by Zoopla also revealed that couples are together for an average of three years, three months and 12 days before they commit to buying a property together.

The research found evidence of gender differences when it comes to finding the right property. Women are apparently the most dominant when it comes to the property search, with 40% admitting to leading the charge compared to 30% of men.

Men appear to be happier to take a backseat during the search phase – two thirds (65%) say they’d trust their partner to view properties in their absence and a further 34% even admit they’d let their partner put in an offer without having seen the property themselves (compared to 46% and 19% of women respectively).

Despite being more confident in their partner’s opinion, men are three times more likely to splurge on the perfect home. More than a fifth of homeowners (22%) went over budget (by an average of £10,385), with 21% of men taking responsibility for the decision, compared to just seven per cent of women. In addition, the results revealed that men are more willing to compromise on what they want from a property in order to suit their partner’s needs – 79% say they’re prepared to make sacrifices compared to 60% of women.

However, men also appear to better at taking future considerations into account. Over a third (36%) ensured their property had enough bedrooms for future children (compared to 30% of women), almost a quarter (23%) considered the performance of local schools (compared to 17% of women), and a fifth sought a property that could be extended (compared to 12% of women).

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