What made you buy your home? Research reveals the UK’s top house-buying bait

From ideal locations to original fireplaces, here are your top attractions when buying a house

What were the most important factors you considered when you bought your home? The area, good schools, original features?

Well, it seems like there's a lot more to think about than just location, location, location...

New research carried out by My Home Move has revealed the most important considerations Brits make when choosing to buy a new home.

As modern day, discerning house hunters we might look for good location, fitting price and a beautiful garden first and foremost, but the list goes on...

When asked what made them fall in love with their property, those surveyed revealed a lengthy list of 15 main pull factors:

58% said it was all about location, location, location

37% claimed price
was their biggest deciding factor

29% were interested in the garden

15% looked at the interiors

13% wanted a lovely living room

8% longed for a cool kitchen

7% wanted a marvellous master bedroom

7% studied the exterior

7% demanded lots of natural light

5% had to find it architecturally interesting

3% looked for beautiful decoration

2% fancied a good fireplace

1% checked out the flooring

1% wished for good walls

1% were drawn by the street name

With location coming out on top, with well over half those polled saying this was their strongest pull, the research then went on to investigate top location deciding factors:

40% needed good transport links

35% wanted to live near a green area

32% had be close to amenities

29% looked at the nearby schools

29% longed to be close to family

23% wanted a short commute and be close to work

16% considered up and coming areas

9% wanted to be close to friends

The group were then finally asked what put them off other properties they had looked at and, you guessed it, bad location was up there at the top again:

43% said location was wrong

40% said house was too expensive

34% said interior appearance wasn't appealing

30% said house was too small

26% said exterior appearance wasn't attractive

20% couldn't put their finger on it, didn't know

9% said the house was under budget
so felt they could get a better property for their money

7% said the property was too big

7% worried about the
neighbours

5% didn't feel safe
in the area

So, what do you look for when buying a new house? Is it all about the postcode for you too, or are you more interested in what's on the inside?

Heather Young
Editor

Heather Young has been Ideal Home’s Editor since late 2020, and Editor-In-Chief since 2023. She is an interiors journalist and editor who’s been working for some of the UK’s leading interiors magazines for over 20 years, both in-house and as a freelancer.