Brits have revealed what they look for in a modern home – including a quiet neighbourhood, plenty of natural light, and a driveway.
A poll of 2,000 adults identified the must haves when it comes to buying a property, with a garage, secure fencing and decent mobile signal also key.
Other necessities included having space for a home office, and a downstairs loo, with proximity to shops, pubs, and restaurants also priorities.
It also emerged a home with eco-friendly credentials is ‘important’ for half of those polled – with features such as an electric vehicle (EV) charger.
The research was commissioned by Vauxhall, which has teamed up with property marketplace, Zoopla, to introduce a search filter enabling users to find homes with an EV charger or help them locate the closest public charger to a property.
This comes after 40 per cent of drivers polled in the study said access to EV charging facilities near a house they were looking to buy would influence their purchasing decision.
While 54 per cent admitted it would be helpful if property marketplaces or apps were to show where the nearest EV chargers are.
Spokesperson for the car maker, Steve Catlin, said: “Moving house is one of the biggest decisions most of us make in our lifetime.
“And anyone who’s done it knows how important – and difficult – it is to find the perfect home.”
Other attributes adults would like in a modern home include energy-efficient glazing (35 per cent) and a low-maintenance garden (34 per cent).
But 51 per cent said that if they were choosing their next home now, access to eco-friendly features like an EV charger would be important to them.
While 33 per cent would like a home with both old and new features, and 32 per cent would rather it be completely brand new, compared to 17 per cent who’d want an old house.
Around seven in 10 (68 per cent) currently have access to a driveway, with 58 per cent of motorists using a petrol car, 17 per cent diesel and 25 per cent a hybrid, electric or plug-in hybrid.
But 47 per cent would be more likely to buy an electric or hybrid vehicle, if there was easy access to charging near their home, according to the OnePoll.com figures.
Steve Catlin, spokesperson for Vauxhall, which partnered with Zoopla as part of its ‘Electric Streets of Britain’ [http://www.electricstreets.co.uk/] campaign to improve on-street charging for households without driveways, added: “As EVs become an even more common sight on our roads, more and more people will be prioritising charging access when thinking about where to live.
“We hope the features we have worked with Zoopla to introduce go some way to make decisions around buying and renting a new home that little bit easier for millions across the country.”
