Zoopla Reveals Renters Want Parking & Pets – PRESS RELEASE

7^th March 2019

ZOOPLA REVEALS RENTERS WANT PARKING & PETS

• Parking sits firmly at the top of requirements for renters
• Pet-friendly rentals are growing in popularity, with the search term ‘pets’ ranking as the third most popular across Great Britain
• Londoners desire plush amenities as build to rent schemes offer above and beyond facilities

Zoopla, the owner of multiple leading property-related website, software and data brands, can today reveal the property types in the highest demand across the lettings and sales markets in Great Britain. According to the new research, parking is the most coveted feature of rental homes across England, Wales and Scotland; whilst three-bedroom houses are the most viewed property type on the portal by house hunters.

Zoopla analysed search data from its keyword property search tool to reveal the nation’s most sought-after features of a rental home (see Table 1). Parking was consistently ranked as the most frequently searched feature of rental homes across all regions of Great Britain except North East of England, Scotland and Wales where ‘garage’ and ‘furnished’ took the top spots. The search term ‘garage’ was ranked as Brits’ second most searched property term on Zoopla. The findings come at a time when the average motorist in the UK spends nearly four days every year (91 hours) looking for parking spaces according to research by the British Parking Association (BPA)*.

Rental homes that allow pets are also in high demand across the nation, with the search term ‘pets’ featuring in the top three most searched property features in every region across Great Britain. The search term has grown in popularity in the last year, jumping from fifth place to third in the national rankings and appearing for the first time in the top 10 most searched rental property terms by Londoners. The research follows statistics from Dogs Trust, which revealed that 78% of pet owners have experienced difficulty in finding accommodation which accepts pets**.

Annabel Dixon, spokesperson for Zoopla, comments: “Parking and garages were a consistent requirement for tenants across the nation. While this may not be the most exciting feature of a home, our research clearly shows that landlords can make their properties much more attractive by creating or enhancing existing parking. Whether they re-landscape their garden to include a driveway or apply to drop the kerb outside their house, these changes could pay dividends.”

Regional breakdown

On a regional level, London renters have the most luxurious requirements; ‘gym’ and ‘ensuite’ featured in the top 10 most searched lettings terms in the Capital, yet they didn’t appear in the top requirements for renters in any other region across Great Britain. Meanwhile, tenants in Scotland have arguably less demanding requirements, with ‘dishwasher’ making it into the top 10 for the country (See Table 2).

In the North East and South West, home hunters are after countryside dwellings, with ‘rural’ and ‘cottage’ featuring on tenants’ lists of priorities in these regions. Whilst renters in the North West of England clearly enjoy the great outdoors, with ‘garden’ and ‘balcony’ featuring in the top 10 list for tenants.

Zoopla also analysed viewings data to reveal the most viewed property types across the nation. Unsurprisingly, three-bedroom houses are the most frequently viewed properties on Zoopla; this was the case for every region except for the Capital where two-bedroom flats pipped the three-bedroom house to the post (see Table 3).

Annabel Dixon, spokesperson for Zoopla, comments: “From gyms to balconies, right through to dishwashers, it is fascinating to see how the requirements of renters differ across all regions of Great Britain. With Londoners paying a premium in rent, it makes sense that these tenants are focused on high quality amenities and luxury features; whilst renters in more rural locations are looking for properties that make the most of their countryside setting.

“Three-bedroom houses have come up trumps in our ranking of the most viewed properties by house hunters. These homes appeal to a wide range of buyers and tenants, including young families who are looking for space to grow as well as downsizers who want a more manageable space that can still accommodate visitors.”

-ENDS-

* https://www.britishparking.co.uk/News/motorists-spend-nearly-four-days-a-year-looking-for-a-parking-space

** https://www.finders.co.uk/assets/file/renting_with_pets_booklet.pdf

Notes to editors

Media enquiries:

For further information contact:

Rebecca Warden-Brown

Instinctif Partners

Phone: D +44 20 7457 2383 / 07876745530

Email: zoopla@instinctif.com

About Zoopla

The Zoopla Limited property division includes some of the UK’s leading property portal, software, marketing and data insights brands that help property professionals market their properties, promote their brand, make informed decisions and manage their business efficiently. Our websites and apps attract over 50 million visits per month and over 25,000 business partners use our range of services.

• Zoopla is the UK’s most comprehensive property portal, helping consumers research the market and find their next home by combining hundreds of thousands of property listings with market data and local information.
• PrimeLocation is one of the UK’s leading property websites, helping house-hunters in the middle / upper tiers of the market to find their dream home from the top estate and letting agents and property developers.
• SmartNewHomes is the UK’s leading website dedicated exclusively to new builds, helping buyers understand the market and search for new build homes from all the leading property developers across the country.
• Hometrack and Calcasa are leading providers of automated property valuations and statistical property market insights in the UK and the Netherlands to partners including mortgage lenders, developers, investors, government agencies, housing associations and others.
• Alto, Jupix and Expert Agent are some of the leading cloud-based estate agency and property management software systems used by thousands of property professionals across the UK for the day-to-day management of inventory, marketing and communications.
• PropertyFile and MoveIt are innovative tools used by estate agents to improve communication and efficiency with their customers and to allow them to generate additional revenue streams via referrals.
• TechnicWeb specialises in designing, developing, hosting and operating fully-responsive websites for the property sector.
• Ravensworth is a leading provider of print and design solutions to estate agencies and developers, offering a comprehensive range of products and services for every stage of the property marketing journey from listing through to post-sale.

Table 1. Top 10 key word searches across Great Britain

Source: Zoopla, March 2019

Table 2. Top 10 key word searches across all regions

Table 3. Top 3 property types by viewings all regions   

Source: Zoopla, March 2019