A new survey, commissioned by UK Radiators, has questioned 1000 Brits to find out what their dream home would look like. According to the data, Britain’s dream home is a modest 4 bedroom country style home, located in the West Midlands. However, more than half of Brits (58%) don’t think they will ever be able to buy their dream home – and with house prices, utility bills and general costs of living rising, it’s easy to understand why.
Interestingly, however, it seems men have higher hopes of buying their dream home, with 29% saying they think they will achieve it, compared to only 17% of women.
So, what does Britain’s seemingly unachievable dream home look like?
When it comes to the appearance both inside and out, Brits have some surprisingly realistic expectations. A utility/laundry room was the most important interior feature for 43% of Brits, whilst a garden was the most requested exterior feature for 53% of respondents.
Brits’ favoured exterior features tie in perfectly with Brits’ country home ideal, with features such as summer houses, vegetable patches and greenhouses all making the top 10.
| Interior Features | Exterior Features |
| Utility/laundry room – 43% | Garden – 53% |
| Walk-in wardrobe – 41% | Garage – 42% |
| Kitchen island – 37% | Patio – 38% |
| Underfloor heating – 36% | Summer house – 36% |
| Fireplaces/Log burners – 34% | Conservatory – 33% |
| Pantry- 30% | Balcony – 31% |
| Real wood flooring – 30% | Vegetable patch – 31% |
| Indoor pool – 29% | Greenhouse – 30% |
| Office – 27% | Long driveway – 30% |
| Cinema room – 26% | Porch – 26% |
It seems there is a generational split when it comes to practical interior features, with those aged 55-64 favouring features such as a laundry room (64%) and walk-in-wardrobes (53%), compared to 18-24 year-olds whose top interior features were an office (24%), cinema room (23%) and a games room (22%).
There was also an interesting gender split, the women surveyed seemed to value more practical additions to their home such as a pantry (36%), whereas men wanted more features you’d expect from a ‘dream home,’ choosing additions like a dedicated games room (29%).
What about the surroundings?
Although the physical and visual aspects of a home play a huge part in the decisions making process, the home’s surroundings are also an important factor, a Brits have some specifications when it comes to their dream home.
For 39% of Brits, their dream home feeling safe and secure was the most important factor. Other things such as the property being private (25%), being spacious (18%), and containing environmentally conscious features (14%) were less sought-after but still considered important by many.
Local amenities are another important factor and when asked which amenities they would like within a 20-minute walking distance from their home, these were the top five:
- Supermarket – 43%
- Local park – 43%
- Pub – 39%
- Post office – 38%
- Coffee shop – 36%
When it comes to neighbours it appears that Brits live by ‘the further the better’ with the majority (22%) saying they want their neighbours to be 21+ metres away from their home. A further 21% said they would want their neighbours to live 11-15 metres away and 17% said they don’t want any neighbours at all. The difference in age gaps is interesting again as 23% of those aged 55-64 don’t want any neighbours compared to only 4% of those ages 18-24.
So, how much a Brits willing to spend on their dream home?
When you think of your dream home, you’d likely expect it to be priced in the high millions, however, interestingly despite having the option to choose a £10M+ property, almost a quarter (24%) of Brits would only be willing to pay up to £1M for their dream home while a further 21% of Brits would be happy to pay up to £3M.
But how much would Britain’s dream home actually cost? We spoke to Jonathan Rolande, Property expert at House Buy Fast who said that the dream 4-bed country home in the West Midlands would likely cost more than £650,000 and would require a deposit of about £50,000 and a yearly income of £100,000 to pay off.
Daniel Nezhad, director of UK Radiators commented on the survey findings, “It is really interesting to see how realistic people are when it comes to their dream home, choosing features that are more commonly achievable. It could be fair to say that the recent rise in living costs has potentially impacted people’s dream assets, having them think more clearly about what is and isn’t essential, what is cost-effective and what would cost a lot to run/maintain.”
View the full campaign here: https://ukradiators.com/advice-centre/uk-dream-home/
