We all talk about the property ladder but what does it actually mean? For the first time, In conjunction with ICM research, the Woolwich has put the notion of the 'property ladder' under the spotlight to find out where we think we are and where we want to be. The report explores the motivations that lie behind property buying decisions and analyses the factors which people feel are indicators of progress.

One of the most startling findings is that today's homeowners have rejected the concept of the traditional property ladder in favour of something more imaginative. This 'stairway' is a very different progression which sees homeowners striving to reach an ideal lifestyle rather than a specific sized property.

The Woolwich aims to reflect this more imaginative way of home buying with its own approach to flexibility; with mortgage ideas such as Openplan Offset, homeowners can suit their lifestyles with their mortgage management by "off-setting" their savings to pay off their mortgage more quickly.

This report is based in interviews with over 1300 homeowners.Throughout the report, psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos, a Chartered Counseling and Health Psychologist, considered to b one of the foremost Counseling Psychologists in the UK, provides expert commentary on the research findings.

Today's homebuyers are more likely to opt for security rather than status:

• A property that you own outright with no mortgage is what most people (46 percent) see as being at the top of the stairway.Owning your own home - whatever type of property that home may be - is seen as being more important than dreaming about a particular type of property.
• Just 16 percent of people dream about owning a country mansion; 15 percent dream about a large detached house; 10 percent a country cottage; and three percent a Georgian townhouse.
• 66 percent of people who perceive themselves as being at the top of the property ladder say owning your house outright is the key factor, compared to 55 percent of people who say they are on the first rung and 36 percent on the second rung.
• Owners of conversion flats are the least likely to see owning your home outright as being at the top of the ladder (29 percent), whilst maisonette dwellers are the most likely (68 percent).

To explore homeowners' perception of the notion of the property ladder, we asked them where they saw themselves on it.We asked them to say which rung they felt they were on, assuming the average ladder has nine rungs.

Homeowners see themselves spread up and down the 'ladder', bunching on the middle rung (17 percent).The 'average' homeowner would find themselves not quite halfway up the ladder indicating that whilst people feel they have made significant progress, they still have goals to achieve.

• Less than one in 10 (seven percent) see themselves on the bottom rung whilst five percent see themselves on the top rung.
• Clearly we have different levels of expectation: 35 percent of people who perceive themselves as being on the first rung live in a semi-detached property - the same proportion of semi-detached owners makes up the top rung.
• A significant number of us are confused about what the property ladder means with nearly one third (30 percent) of us saying we're unsure about our property ladder status.

However, looking at homeowners' expectations for the future gives a truer picture of the stairway that the British homeowner is climbing. Whereas only five percent of people see themselves at the top of the traditional 'property ladder', 25 percent see themselves as having climbed the 'stairway' - achieving their own personal property and lifestyle goals with no need to progress any further.

Psychologist, Dr Linda Papadopoulos, comments: "Each person's stairway is defined by their own expectations and background.It is more likely today that each step will represent a step closer to the ideal lifestyle rather than a step up in status."

Confidence in the South East

• Twice as many people in the South East (six percent) see themselves as being at the top of the ladder than in the South West, Wales and Scotland (three percent).
• 38 percent of people in Scotland see themselves as being below the middle rung compared to 31 percent in the north of England and 32 percent in the South East.
• The South East also has more people claiming to be above the middle rung (22 percent) than Wales and the South West (17 percent).

Dr Linda Papadopoulos comments: "House prices are constantly rising.People tend to work on the premise that past performance predicts future behaviour - therefore they are more confident about their investment and about their capacity to quickly make the next step up.

"Because properties in the South East have seen a large rise in value, even 'poor' areas are re-framed as 'up and coming' rather than low on the ladder. Where you see yourself on the ladder is also determined by your general sense of achievement - in terms of equity in the property but also the lifestyle that you lead."

We asked people how quickly they expected to make their next move as a way of exploring their aspirations.It seems that, in general, we are confident about when we can expect to progress. The average homeowner expects to move on in just over six years whilst 28 percent of people expect to progress in less than five years.However, a closer examination of the research reveals key differences in people's expectations and differing rates of progression. According to Dr Linda Papadopoulos, when it comes to property progression, we fall into four distinct types: Heaven's Residents; Sensitive Savers; Practical Purchasers; and Serial Movers.

Heaven's Residents

• 25 percent say no further climbing is necessary
• This figure increases with age - 50 percent of 65 year olds say they aren't moving any further
• Those over 55 are more than twice as likely to believe themselves to be at the top of the ladder than any other age group (11% compared to 3% of 35-44 year olds).

Dr Linda Papadopoulos comments: "Heaven's Residents are a satisfied bunch. They are either content with where they are or not willing to go through the emotional and practical upheaval of moving. Daily quality of life is important and when they think they're on to a good thing, they stick with it."

Serial Movers

On average, people who see themselves at the top of the traditional property ladder say it takes nearly 18 years to get there but one in five people who see themselves at the top of the ladder got there within ten years of buying their first property.

• People who perceive themselves as being at the bottom of the ladder are the most optimistic about moving up within the next five years (53 percent compared to 29 percent on the middle rung).
• Men intend to make their next move up the ladder slightly quicker than women do (five and a half years compared to six and a half years) and more men (34 percent) than women (24 percent) think they will get to the next rung in less than five years.
• 13 percent of homeowners expect to be moving up within two years.

Dr Linda Papadopoulos comments: "Serial Movers are generally self-confident in all aspects of their lives.Highly motivated, they are driven by a desire to succeed and tend to be high achievers in their careers.They can often possess an entrepreneurial spirit.Spontaneous and energetic, they thrive on adventure and soon tire of routine."

"Men's confidence about the speed with which they expect to progress is to do with notions of social expectation. It's also connected to confidence about career progression and prosperity."

Practical Purchasers

• 27 percent of people expect a move between two and 10 years.
• Over half (53 percent) of 18-24 year olds fall in to this category.
• 42 percent of Scots are in this group.

Dr Linda Papadopoulos comments: "Practical Purchasers are no strangers to ambition but tend to set themselves realistic goals. Essentially, they don't want to bite off more than they can chew. It is probably not surprising that young people, many of whom are first time buyers fall mainly in this category. For young people a new home is their first major financial commitment and so "strolling" is the best approach if they want to get a good footing and progress during their property lifetime."

Sensitive Savers

• 21 percent of people who see themselves at the bottom of the property ladder took over 20 years to get there, as did 36 percent of people on the second rung
• On average, it takes 15 years to get to the middle rung but 20 percent of people on that rung took less than five years whilst 36 percent took over 20 years
• 13 percent don't anticipate any movement within the next decade.

Dr Linda Papadopoulos comments: "Sensitive Savers are cautious creatures and take a pragmatic approach to home buying, saving up over a number of years and planning the type of move they want to make very carefully.They can shy away from change generally and find comfort in routine and the familiar. Sensitive to their surroundings, they tend to form more of an emotional bond with their homes than serial movers."

Serial Moving in Scotland

• Speedy Scots claim to have got where they are quicker than anyone else in the UK. On average, it has taken them 12 years to get there compared to a UK average of just under 15 years and 16 years in Wales and the South West.
• More than one in five Scots (22 percent) got to where they are in less than five years compared to 15 percent in the South East and 10 percent in Wales and the South West.People in Scotland also plan to make their next move up sooner than in other area of the UK.HT On average, Scots think they will move up within five years compared to nearly six years in the Midlands and just over seven years in Wales and the South West.

• A bigger pad isn't the key to progression according to the majority of Britons. Instead, nearly half of us (49 percent) see location as the most important factor.This is a clear indication that quality of life issues come in to play when moving up - not just size of the property - so bigger isn't better if the location isn't right.
• More women see location as the key factor than men (46 percent compared to 52 percent).
• Only 27 percent of 18-24 year olds see location as the key to moving up but this rises to 52 percent amongst 25-34 year olds who are more conscious of location than any other age group.
• The higher up you see yourself on the traditional property ladder, the more important location becomes.Fifty seven percent of people at the upper end of the ladder rate location as a top priority.
• Scots are more interested in location as a way to progress than people in any other area of the UK. Fifty two percent put location on the top of their priority list compared to 46 percent of people in Wales and the South West.

Other Indicators of Progression:

Size

• No matter what rung of the ladder people say they are on, 74% of respondents live in a property with three bedrooms or less, indicating that size of property is not the driving factor in determining where you think you are on the property ladder.
• That said, 10 percent of people on the ninth rung live in five bedroom properties compared to a national average of five percent and just one percent of people on the first rung.

Value

• The same proportion of people (26 percent) that rate size as very important also rate the value of the property as key.
• More people in the South East (29 percent) put value of the property as the key to moving up than in Scotland (20 percent).

Land

• Almost as important as the size of the property itself is the size of surrounding land. One in five people (21 percent) say this is key to progression.
• Northerners are most interested in land - 49 percent put this in their top two criteria for moving up.
• More women (24 percent) than men (18 percent) see the size of surrounding land as a key to progression.

Numbers of properties owned

• The research indicates that idea that each property you own equates to a rung on a property ladder is dispelled by this research.Only 10 percent of homeowners say that it's the number of properties you have owned that is a key indicator of success, whilst 43 percent say this is actually the least important factor.
• The majority of people (38 percent) who perceive themselves as being at the top of the ladder have only owned one property whilst 28 percent of these people have only owned two.
• People also don't think it's necessary to own multiple properties to reach the top - 89 percent of people who perceive themselves as being on the ninth rung only own one property.

Dr Linda Papadopoulos comments: Because properties vary so much in their style and ambience, price is the clearest variable with which to make judgements regarding success.From a rational point of view, property progression is about financial stability and investment.There is an emotional detachment where the house is seen as a tradable possession - as a means through which one can acquire more wealth and move up the perceived property ladder.

With the equity inherent in most properties most people are in possession of more money than they ever thought they'd make - it's about pride and exceeding expectations.But your house isn't just a commodity - it speaks of the sacrifices you have made and of the dreams that you have.Progression up the property stairway is about developing life and dreams and not simply about acquiring more wealth - this is where factors such as the feel of the location or plots of land can come into play.People are much more imaginative today about how they view their property status.

• More than half of Britons (55 percent) would see a move to a detached house as a move up - which is more than for any other type of property.
• The majority of people who say they're on the top rung of the ladder live in a detached house (37 percent), followed closely by semi-detached owners (35 percent).
• 25 percent of people would see a move to a semi-detached property as a step up the ladder.
• 20 percent percent of people living in terraced houses see a detached five-bedroom house as a sign of being at the top of the property ladder, compared to a national average of 15 percent.
• Nearly one in 10 (nine percent) would see a terraced house as a step up.