THINKING of buying a home for the first time or moving home? While your first concerns are likely to be about the condition of the property market and finding the right mortgage - there are some other key issues to consider.

According to the Traditional Housing Bureau, an organisation set up to promote the consumer's rights to know what they are buying when purchasing a new house, sound insulation and the expected lifespan of a property are becoming of increasing concern .

Traditionally, buyers were worried about finding a house in the right location with the right number of bedrooms and that was in a decent state of repair, but says Alan Tovey, secretary of the THB, this has been changing in recent years.

"Feedback received from a number of exhibitions we've attended and from research we've commissioned shows that the issue of internal noise insulation is becoming of greater importance as people lead increasingly stressful lives and ownership of TVs, stereos, PCs and games consoles increases.

“Additionally, people also want to be sure that the property they are investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in will be a long term asset and possibly one that they can pass on to their children."

A large proportion of this feedback comes from people who have visited self build exhibitions - that is those people who are interested in living in homes built to their own specific requirements.”

For more information abut the benefits of brick and block built houses visit www.housebuilder.org.uk or phone Vanessa Barton at CIB on 01372 371800 to request a free copy of Home Life, the THB's magazine.