More than two-thirds ‘take over a week to feel at home in a new property’

More than two-thirds of people say it takes over a week for a property they have just moved into to feel like home, a survey has found.

Some 68% of people feel this way, while 39% take longer than a month to feel at home, according to Zoopla, which questioned more than 2,000 people across Britain.

More than a third (37%) of people deep clean their property on the first day of moving in, while a fifth (20%) celebrate with a takeaway, the poll revealed.

One in 14 (7%) get stuck into making home improvements.

Richard Houston, consumer spokesman at Zoopla, which has guides to help first-time buyers, said: “We think the home is a deeply meaningful place.”

Here are the factors that make a property feel like home, according to the Zoopla survey, with the percentages of people surveyed who chose them: 

1. Decorating your new home, 26%

2. Returning to your home after a day at work, 22%

3. Unpacking everything, 14%

4. Waking up after the first night, 13%

5. Having friends and family visit, 8%

=6. Making your first meal from scratch, 3%

=6. Having a beer or a glass of wine, 3%

=8. Getting a pet, 2%

=8. The first cup of tea, 2%

10. Buying plants, 1%