Britain’s ‘forever home’ revealed

The ideal ‘forever home’ for the average British homeowner is a four-bedroom, detached house in the country, worth £458,000 – and just down the road from Mum, it has emerged. 

A detailed study of 2,000 UK homeowners, carried out by Origin, also found that homeowners hanker after a property with a driveway, a play room, and somewhere to hang the washing.

Plenty of natural light was also a must-have for homeowners, with 99% of people saying it was important. Over half said they wanted big windows, while bifolding or sliding doors that lead out to the garden were also high on the list of features. 

Other must-haves include a large kitchen and breakfast room, an ample lounge, utility room and dining room. 

A double garage and conservatory are also essential, as is a study and cloakroom. Ideally, we want to live in a location just 10.5 miles from the office.

Ben Brocklesby, director at Origin, said: “We wanted to find out more about the concept of the forever home, whether it still exists and what homeowners want most from their properties. This provides our partners with market insights that will help them further understand homeowners, their customers, and what it is that they want from their homes.

“This will allow them to offer an even more rounded experience when in the showroom. 

“We pride ourselves on the gold standard of service that we offer to our partners, providing them with the best possible opportunities to maximise profitability, and this extra knowledge will set them in good stead when dealing with customers every day.

“Interestingly, more than three quarters of people still believe in the concept of a forever home, which shows that the clear majority of homeowners are constantly climbing the property ladder, striving to find a home to live in for the rest of their lives.”

Two bathrooms, two en-suites and two reception rooms are also key components. 

Good transport links and a pub within a mile and a half are also vital elements.

An ambitious one-in-three even went as far as to suggest their ‘forever home’ would include a swimming pool and sauna.

Over half of people chose the sea as the perfect view from their windows, followed by a countryside view of either rolling hills or a field of cows. Britain’s least chosen view from the home was, perhaps unsurprisingly, a football stadium. 

It also emerged that homeowners dream of spending their years in a street where they are surrounded by friendly neighbours, four of whom they are on first name terms with. 

A 1,000ft2 garden is the ideal size, according to most Brits. 

With regard to amenities, the ideal forever home would have everything residents needed within a three-mile radius. The Post Office, corner shop, newsagents and off-licence are considered the most important to have close by. 

While a third of people are actively putting savings aside for their forever home, a third already reside in theirs. 

The age at which most believe they will own their forever home emerged as 53, and four out of ten were convinced they would, at some point, purchase their dream pad. 

Eighty-four percent of UK adults are happy with their current home and around eight in ten think it’s likely they will try to improve or renovate the house they own now.

“With such a high proportion of homeowners planning to improve or renovate their current house, we have some great practical advice on our website from our experts, looking at everything from how to make the most of a conservatory to styling your front of house – getting homeowners one step closer to creating their forever home,” Ben said.

The research was conducted online in June 2017 by OnePoll on behalf of Origin surveying 2,000 UK homeowners.