Different property priorities for men and women

A new survey of 2,000 respondents from Strutt & Parker has highlighted the differences between men and women's housing priorities.

Warren Lewis
1st July 2015
Rainbow House

By collating the answers, the survey results give a refreshing insight into the housing desires of the population.

The survey sample was a combination of Strutt & Parker registered buyers, sellers, tenants and lettings applicants from the past three years, and a balanced general UK population sample conducted by OnePoll. The respondents came from across the country with a balanced gender split.

Strutt & Parker decided to take a look at the differing answers supplied by men and women to see how much they varied and if any trends emerged – and the results were interesting.

When asked to rate their motivations for moving, the reasons listed as important and very important differed between men and women:

FEMALE

MALE

Better schools

Tax changes

Access to public transport

Retirement

Access to shops/amenities

Pension support/top up

Close to work

Smaller home

Bigger home

Political environment

Personal finances

Mobile coverage

Close to family/friends

Lifestyle change

Broadband connectivity

A number of other differences were observed:

When it came to dream home items, the survey revealed that 14% of men wanted a cinema/screening room and 12% wanted a wine cellar. In contrast, 24% 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.

Stephanie McMahon, Head of Research at Strutt & Parker, said: “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.”

So there you go. Men and women want different things. Who'd've thought that eh?

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