26 June 2012
Britain’s dream home is a three bedroom semi-detached house in a rural village
Forget the stately home or a city penthouse, new research released today reveals that Britain’s dream home is a three bedroom semi-detached house in a rural village.
And as well as wanting a home attached to their next door neighbours, the British appear keen to have their friends round. The most sought-after feature of this dream home is a large open plan kitchen/diner and living area, perfect for entertaining.
The study, carried out as part of AA Home Emergency Response’s research series entitled “AA State of the Nation’s Homes”, found that 18% of adults aspire to own a semi-detached house with two to three bedrooms, the most popular type of property. The most desired location is a rural village, which is top of the list for 28% of people.
Half the adult population (49%) would like views of mountains or countryside, marginally more than would like to see the sea from their windows (48%).
when it comes to houses, the research shows that we are much more realistic and that for many of us, our dream home is likely to be within our reach
Tom Stringer, Head of AA Home Emergency Response
While men and women are well matched in their most desired panorama, there could be a battle between the sexes over the interior layout of their dream home.
Twice as many men as women (37% v 18%) would include a games room in their ultimate home and 50% more men than women (26% v 17%) want their own cinema at home.
The view that females are the more nurturing sex is borne out by the fact that 29% of women want their dream home to have grounds for livestock, such as a chicken run, compared with 22% of men.
The research also indicates that in the long run, increased demand could see the price of rural properties rise significantly as 34% of people want to live in a rural location, yet these areas currently account for only 18% of the housing stock.
Tom Stringer, Head of AA Home Emergency Response, said: “We are used to drivers dreaming about owning cars most of us are never likely to afford, such as a Ferrari. However, when it comes to houses, the research shows that we are much more realistic and that for many of us, our dream home is likely to be within our reach.”
Men
Women
(27 June 2012)
Research was carried out by ICM amongst a GB representative sample of 2,005 adults between 30th March and 1st April 2012.
