Key findings of the Halifax mortgages research are:
- People prefer detached houses - Half of people (50%) would prefer their ideal home to be a detached house.
- New builds are the most popular type of housing - Almost a quarter of respondents (22%) prefer new build properties.
- The countryside is the nation's preferred location - When it comes to the location of their ideal home, almost one third (30%) of people would choose the countryside.
- Room for three – The typical house would have three bedrooms, with a lounge/ diner, study, kitchen/ diner, conservatory, playroom, family bathroom and toilet. Other key features would include central heating, double glazing, a fitted kitchen, modern bathroom, an enclosed garden, off-street parking, a garage and a home security system. Two thirds (66%) of people said a conservatory was desirable.
- Environmentally friendly features desirable – When considering their ideal home Brits don't just want their surroundings to be green, they are also thinking about the impact of their home on the environment. Almost two-thirds (63%) cited environmentally friendly features as desirable whilst over half (56%) cited energy and fuel saving measures.
- The sitting room/ lounge and kitchen are the most important rooms in the ideal detached home – People in the ideal detached home would find the sitting room/ lounge (38%) and kitchen (37%) the most important room to them in terms of it being designed or decorated in a way they found appealing.
- Open plan living on the rise – People are spending more time in either lounge/diners or kitchen/diners than a kitchen or dining room which indicates a trend towards open plan living, especially when it comes to eating areas.
- Home is your office away from the office - The high proportion of people spending a lot of time in their study in the evening not only reflects the nation's dependency on home computers, but also the tendency to work from home on a regular basis.
Research Underpinning The Ideal Home
Property type
Half of people (50%) would prefer their ideal home to be a detached house, followed by 17% a bungalow, 13% a conversion, such as a barn, castle, mill, school or vicarage, 9% a cottage and 5% a semi-detached property.
Location
When it comes to the location of their ideal home, almost one third (30%) of people would choose the countryside, followed by one quarter at the seaside (25%).
The ideal location (top five)
1. Countryside 30%
2. Seaside 25%
3. Quaint village 13%
4. Market town 12%
5. Historic town/ city 7%
'Desirable' and 'Essential' features
The 'warmth factor' is a key part of the ideal detached house, with almost all respondents (94%) considering central heating and over four-fifths of them considering double glazing (86%) to be essential. This is followed by a fitted kitchen (79%), a modern bathroom (78%), off-street parking (65%) an enclosed garden (63%), garage (56%) and a home security system (55%).
When it comes to those features of the ideal detached property that are considered to be desirable, but not essential, a conservatory features highly (66%), followed by environmentally friendly features (63%), energy and fuel saving measures (56%), loft conversion (55%), utility room (55%) contemporary fixtures and fittings (54%), energy efficiency measures (53%), study (52%), fitted bedroom (51%), greenhouse (48%) and a cellar conversion (46%).
Size of rooms in the ideal home
In order to establish the size of the rooms in the ideal home Halifax listed all the potential rooms of a house and asked people to consider how much time you would spend in each room.
Not surprisingly the master bedroom comes out on top (5.65 hours), followed by a lounge/ diner at 5.29 hours.
1. Master bedroom 5.65
2. Lounge/ diner 5.29
3. Lounge 4.78
4. Study 3.48
5. Kitchen/ diner 3.26
6. Kitchen 2.56
7. Conservatory 2.45
8. Dining room 1.90
9. Playroom 1.72
10. Additional bedroom 1.30
11. Spare bedroom 1.18
12. Family bathroom 1.13
13. Toilet 0.74
Other rooms that may not be amongst the ten most common rooms, but are used frequently if they exist include a conservatory and a playroom. Where these rooms exist people spend up to 2.45 hours per day relaxing in their conservatories or 1.72 hours per day in their children's playrooms.
The typical house would therefore be a three bedroom property, with a lounge/ diner, study, kitchen/ diner, conservatory, playroom, family bathroom and toilet. The preference for the lounge/ diner (5.29 hours) over the lounge (4.78 hours) and dining room (1.90 hours) and the kitchen/ diner (3.26 hours) over the kitchen (2.56) and dining room (1.90 hours) reflects the nation's increasing trend towards open plan living, especially when it comes to eating areas. In addition, the high proportion of people spending a lot of time in their study in the evening not only reflects the nation's dependency on home computers, but also the tendency to work from home on a regular basis.
Decoration and aesthetics
People in the ideal detached home would find the sitting room/ lounge (38%) and kitchen (37%) the most important room to them in terms of it being designed or decorated in a way that they found appealing. This compares to the overall average of 40% for the sitting room and lounge and 32% for the kitchen.
In addition, within the ideal detached house it is the size of room (32%), style of kitchen (24%) and size of the home (18%) that is likely to make the greatest impression on people.
