Is the grass greener?

As the saying goes, is the grass always greener on the other side?  A new research project between Dr John Gathergood and UK’s largest specialist online mortgage introducer,  investigates the psychology of mortgage choices. The project focuses on why individuals tend to exhibit inertia – a tendency to stick with the status quo – when facing big life decisions such a buying a home or remortgaging.

To kick off the project, a new tool from OMA harnesses big data from government and market sources to allow people to compare the price and quality of housing, and other features of the locality where they live with that of other towns and cities in the UK.  The tool allows comparison of a broad range of metrics, including average house prices, levels of local wages, school performance, crime and even the price of a pint of lager – helping you to find out whether the grass really is greener on the other side.

This new research project is part funded by the Economic and Social Research Council large grant investment The Network for Integrated Behavioural Science.