What would your dream home look like?

Alex Johnson presents his round-up of this week's property news, including cardboard houses and children's wish lists

Sunrays, a five bedroom detached 1920s Art Deco house in Malvern Road, Worcester, has a large sun terrace with views across the city and lovely gardens. On for 675,000 with Quality Solicitors Parkinson Wright (Zoopla)

A four bedroom, custom-built home near the beach which costs costs £3 million is the most popular dream house, figures from Tepilo suggest. Its survey of homehunter shows en-suites in every bedroom is the ideal feature with an indoor swimming pool close behind, and a library close behind. Four out of 10 people would also include high-tech security features and remote-controlled heating/lighting/sound systems. A fifth of those surveyed also wanted a bowling alley. Around a third of people believe they will actually get to own their dream property.

Property marathon

The average property price along the London Marathon route which takes place this Sunday is more than £700k, up nearly £100,000 on last year, according to HouseSimple.com. St James’s at Mile 26 has the highest average prices at almost £2.5m (up 22 per cent in 12 months) and the cheapest average prices are at Mile 3 and 4 in Woolwich at £314,446.

Added value

Homeowners believe a spare bedroom adds the most value to a property. The figures from eMoov.co.uk show that outside space is in second place, with a garage in third. Only two per cent think a good community atmosphere adds extra value.

House of cardboard

Harry Dwyer and Charlie Waller of Aircraft Workshop will showcase what they claim is the world's first houseboat built entirely of recycled cardboard at Grand Designs Live on 30 April. The boat will contain two bunks, an electric motor, and kitchen.

Mortgage Freedom Day

Tuesday was, according to Halifax, Mortgage Freedom Day, the day when the average new borrower had earned enough to pay off the annual cost of their mortgage. Geographical variations mean homeowners in Scotland and Northern Ireland reached this mark earlier, on 12 March, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber (25 March) but Londoners have to wait until 26 June and those in South Bucks until 12 September. Rental Freedom Day will come on 5 May.

Home insurance new low

Home insurance premiums are at their lowest since 2010, says MoneySuperMarket, falling six per cent over the last year to an average of £109. The biggest drops have been in Shrewsbury and Dudley, with average premiums down 12 per cent, while the biggest rises were in Enfield (up three per cent), Cambridge, and Hereford.

Predicting price rises

Ipsos MORI analysis asking people what they expect the average UK house price to be next year shows the public are very good at estimating property value changes, although they tend to underestimate the extent of house price rises in the past. Interestingly, the latest Halifax survey for Halifax reveals a sharp rise in the proportion of people saying that they ‘don’t know’ what will happen to house prices.

Being neighbourly

Eight out of ten people know their neighbours’ names, around half speak to them regularly and a third would consider them friends. The poll by TSB Mortgages also showed that one in 10 would like to get to know their neighbours better.

Moving day

The top five items left behind by house movers are curtains, a wardrobe, fridge/freezer, garden furniture and a sofa, shows a study by Capital One.

Who owns it?

Frank Field MP presented The Property Ownership in London (Registration) Bill to the House of Commons this week which would mean the creation of a register of owners of property in the Greater London area, including details of the name of the owner and the name of the beneficiary owner in the case of properties owned by a trust or similar body.

Sea property

On average, prices within 100m of the coastline of Great Britain are nearly 12 per cent higher than those within 1km, according to Savills. Yorkshire and the Humber has the highest coastal premiums while on average there is no premium for living by the sea in Scotland.

Not changing rooms

A quarter of people never change their home’s interior décor, according to a survey by Nest.co.uk, although six per cent redecorate at least once a year, the majority of which are aged 18-24. The most popular room to freshen up is the sitting room. Meanwhile, a quarter of people clean their bathroom less than once a week, according to Pebble Grey.

London borough bathrooms

Bathroom specialists Hugo Oliver has designed a series of bathrooms inspired by iconic London Boroughs Shoreditch, Notting Hill, Islington and Camden.

Forgot location

A Chestertons poll shows that children under 10 estimate that the average UK three bedroom home costs £3,000, and name a treehouse plus three good hiding places as their ‘most wanted’ features. While their parents put a good location top of their own list, a quarter of children were more keen on room for pets. On average, the children questioned hoped to be a homeowner by the time they were 19.

Retirement concerns

Two thirds of people over 55 are worried about the cost of living in retirement where they currently live, but a similar figure are reluctant to move out. According to Key Retirement’s figures, the most expensive city for pensioners to live in is Brighton (average annual cost £13,000 a year), while those in Cardiff enjoy the lowest annual cost of living at £9,700.