Whether you’re looking to rent or buy, everyone has their ideal property in mind when house hunting. The property portal Zoopla ran a survey to see what keywords house hunters are using when looking for their perfect property.
The results suggested that room for parking was a huge priority, with both ‘garage’ and ‘parking’ making it into the top three most searched terms. Outdoor spaces were also a popular choice amongst house hunters, with ‘garden’ also appearing in the top three most searched phrases on Zoopla.
There were also significant variations between regions – house hunters in London and the South East had a strong focus on parking and outdoor space, despite these features coming at a premium in the capital. Heading further North, house hunters started to focus on the surroundings of the property, as well as essentials like parking and outdoor spaces. The search term ‘rural’ appeared in the top ten for the North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber. Being close to the seaside was also particularly important for those in the North East, with ‘seaview’ being the seventh most searched term in that particular region.
Bungalows were one of the most popular property types – the search term consistently scored high in the majority of regions across the country, showing that there is a growing demand for single level properties. Cottages were also highly sought-after amongst house hunters, where it appeared in the top ten for a number of regions.
Speaking of the results, Andy Marshall, the chief commercial officer at Zoopla, said: ‘Keyword searches are a useful gauge of home buyer priorities, and offer an insight into how people are living today. They can also inform agents on which attributes to highlight in a listing, which in turn enhances searchability amongst home hunters.
‘The prevalence of ‘garage’, ‘parking’ and ‘driveway’ demonstrates that the ability to park a car can determine whether or not a buyer will arrange a viewing. Gardens are similarly popular and should always be mentioned in a property’s listing.
‘There are some interesting regional nuances that are worth considering, too. ‘Rural’, ‘acre’, ‘secluded’ and ‘annex’ aren’t necessarily front of mind when writing up a property, but prospective buyers in certain regions are clearly associating them with their property wish-list.’
These results should be very enlightening to landlords who are looking to put any of their properties on the market. There is a growing demand for rental accommodation across the UK and its coming from tenants of all walks of life who will be seeking a variety of properties, so having any of the mentioned features on a property could be very rewarding for those who are selling.
Does your property have any of the features mentioned above and you’re looking to put it on the market? Get in touch with one of our valuers today!
