What men and women look for when buying/selling/renting

Men and women have a different set of priorities when buying, selling or renting a property, the latest Housing Futures study from Strutt & Parker shows.

Exploring the differences between the sexes Strutt & Parker found that:

• When it came to dream home items, the survey revealed that 14 per cent of men wanted a cinema/screening room and 12 per cent wanted a wine cellar. In contrast, 24 per cent of women rated an AGA oven as their top home accessory, while 18% wanted a kitchen island.

• While both sexes agreed that ‘Traditional British’ was their favourite type of interior design, certain styles scored much more highly with women than men including ‘Warehouse Loft’, ‘Simplistic Scandinavian’, ‘Classical French’ and ‘Exotic Indian’. On the other hand, ‘1950s/60s/70s Retro’ was preferred by men.

• Men preferred ‘Stark’, ‘Grand/imposing’ and ‘Cool’ feelings to describe the character of their home. While for women, ‘Quirky/creative’ and ‘Calm/relaxing’ ambiences were more popular.

• When it comes to outside space, men are far more interested in living on or near a body of water than women, perhaps to enjoy pursuits such as sailing and fishing. Homes with sporting facilities such as gym, pool and tennis were also more popular with men, although more women were keen on equestrian amenities.

• When looking at the type of home services you might receive if you lived in a managed apartment block or Private Rented Sector (PRS) unit, men tended to be far keener on convenience and practical amenities. Having a porter/doorman, in-house cleaning services, car sharing, banquet services and refrigeration drop-off storage were all far more popular with male respondents. For females, it was important that pets were allowed and disabled accessibility was also a priority.

• Environmental features appeared to be of more importance to men than they were to women. Code Level 5 ratings, renewable energy, living walls, grey/potable water and green roofs were all markedly more popular with male respondents.

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Stephanie McMahon, head of research at Strutt & Parker, commented:

“Our overall analysis points towards elements such as broadband connectivity and access to amenities being very important for buyers. However, men and women appear to have a slightly different interpretation on what these might mean.”

“When referring to private rental, for example, for men amenities and services might mean concierge services and grocery drop off, for women it might mean ability to bring pets and disabled accessibility. Both genders place personal finances as important which reflects both the capital growth of the last 30 years from residential property, as well as the ability to either use equity for lifestyle reasons or as deposits on a future property purchase.”

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According to the Housing Futures study: