Housing Futures survey reveals Aga dropped from No 1 accessory

Strutt & Parker’s latest Housing Futures survey, with over 2,600 respondents from across the UK, gives an interesting insight into the housing desires of the British population.

The research takes a look at the differing responses received from men and women to see how much they varied and if any trends emerged.

When asked to rate their motivations for moving home, the top five choices were the same for both sexes – lifestyle, privacy, broadband connections and proximity to shops: 

However, when you look beyond these top five options, men and women’s priorities seem to shift. For men, some of the next most important motivations were retirement and looking for a smaller home. In contrast, women were more concerned about better schools, mobile phone coverage, and living near family and friends.

Jake Civardi, Partner in Winchester, said: “Our analysis shows again this year that men and women have many similarities yet also differences regarding their wants and needs for a future home. Men tend to seek solutions for work flexibility – garden offices and work spaces whilst women are looking for career changes, schools and expanding households. Men are also more interested in views over water, whether that be rivers, lakes or sea. The sexes are aligned when it comes to village lifestyle being number one, the imperative for connectivity through broadband and mobile coverage and the need for a well-insulated and energy efficient home.”

A number of other differences were observed:

* Men seem to prefer rural locations to the city. London does not feature in the top 5 regions for men, whereas it was the third most popular location for women in terms of places they’d like to move to. Only 6% of men wanted to live in London in the future.

* Villages were the highest desired…