Research carried out by the BNP Paribas Group has uncovered the latest trends shaping the UK’s buying market.
The annual Housing Futures report, released at the beginning of May, assessed the views and opinions of 2,000 respondents, and also utilised data from Next X, BNP Paribas Real Estate’s location analysis tool.
The first notable trend revealed by the report is that the idea of living in a big city is becoming increasingly popular. Almost one in three respondents (29%) said that they want to live in a major UK city, which is a massive rise from the 12% that gave the same answer in 2016.
London remains the most popular region for people looking to purchase a primary residence, with one in five (20%) stating that the Capital is their ideal living location. Given more than three-quarters (76%) of those who took part in the research said that having shops, restaurants, GPs, pharmacies and schools within walking distance of their home was crucial, it makes sense that city living is viewed as an attractive option.
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The allure of the city
The report also highlighted that access to public transport is incredibly high on people’s list of living needs, with 64% of respondents saying they would ideally want to live somewhere that has reliable transport systems and easy to reach transport hubs.
The research also set out to discover the most desirable property types. Almost half (41%) said they wanted to live in a detached property, with one in five (21%) choosing a semi-detached property and almost the same number (19%) favouring an apartment.
With specific regard to new build properties, the vast majority (72%) of those aged between 30 and 34 said they would ideally like to live in a new build, while only around one in five (19%) of those aged over 66 gave the same response. It is also worth highlighting that Londoners (69%) are far more likely to desire living in a new build than the national average (48%).
You can read the full report by clicking here.
