Rural living tops dream home most-wanted list

A three bedroom semi-detached house in a village with a big kitchen and room for chickens is the most popular ideal property

3 bedroom property for sale, £525,000, in Fish Street, Redbourn, St Albans, Hertfordshire

The study from AA Home Emergency Response found that 18% of adults really want to own a semi-detached house with two to three bedrooms, ideally in a rural village, a location which is top of the list for 28% of people.

The most sought-after feature of this dream home is a large open plan kitchen/diner and living area, perfect for entertaining. Other results reveal:

* Just under half of the 2,005 people questioned would like views of mountains or countryside, slightly more than would like to see the sea from their windows (48%).

* Twice as many men as women (37% v 18%) want a games room in their ideal home and 50% more men than women (26% v 17%) want their own home cinema.

* 29% of women want their dream home to have grounds for livestock, such as a chicken run, compared with 22% of men.

The research suggests that  increased demand could see the price of rural properties rise significantly since while 34% of people want to live in a rural location, these areas currently account for only 18% of the housing stock.

“We are used to drivers dreaming about owning cars most of us are never likely to afford, such as a Ferrari," said Tom Stringer, head of AA Home Emergency Response. "However, when it comes to houses, the research shows that we are much more realistic and that for many of us, our dream home is likely to be within our reach.”

Most desired features

Men

* Large open plan kitchen, diner or living area (56%)

* Views of mountains or countryside (50%)

* Views of the sea (49%)

* Games room (37%)

* Swimming pool (35%)

* Gym (27%)

* Cinema room (26%)

* Grounds for livestock (22%)

Women

* Large open plan kitchen, diner or living area (64%)

* Views of mountains or countryside (48%)

* Views of the sea (48%)

* Swimming pool (42%)

* Grounds for livestock (29%)

* Gym (23%)

* Games room (18%)

* Cinema room (17%)

Dream properties

* Semi-detached, 2-3 bedroom house - 18%

* Detached, 4-5 bedroom house - 16%

* Detached, 2-3 bedroom house - 13%

* 3-4 bedroom terraced house - 8%

* 2 bedroom flat - 7%

* 2 bedroom terraced house - 7%

* Detached bungalow with 2-3 bedrooms - 5%

* Detached house with 6-plus bedrooms - 2%

* Semi-detached 4-5 bedroom house - 2%

* Flat with 3 or more bedrooms - 1%

* Detached bungalow with 4-5 bedrooms - 1%

Dream locations

* Rural village - 28%

* City suburbs - 17%

* Town - 17%

* Coastal village - 16%

* Seaside town - 15%

* Rural isolation - 10%

* Coastal city - 6%

* Coastal isolation - 6%

* City centre - 6%