If you’re wondering what makes the ideal home, the top searches for UK property hunters in 2023 have been revealed, according to new data.

“Garage” topped the list of property features that home buyers were searching for last year using Rightmove’s keyword tool.

Faced with higher mortgage rates, there were signs that buyers were looking to get more space for their money as this was closely followed with “annexe”, “acre”, “garden” and “land” among the popular searches.

It seems many renters were looking for a home for their animals as well as themselves, as “pets” was the top choice among rental property searches.

With cost-of-living concerns still running high, “bills included” was the second most searched-for term among renters in 2023, followed by “furnished”.

Top keyword searches for UK home buyers and renters in 2023

Here are the top keyword sort terms used by prospective home buyers in 2023, according to Rightmove:

  1. Garage
  2. Annexe
  3. Acre
  4. Garden
  5. Land

Here are the top keyword sort terms used by prospective renters in 2023, according to Rightmove:

  1. Pets
  2. Bills included
  3. Furnished
  4. Garage
  5. Garden

More findings from Rightmove’s property round-up showed some other moving trends that shaped 2023, including the increase in average asking prices for houses.

Overall, national average asking prices at the end of 2023 were 1.1% lower than at the same time in the previous year.

However, with Great Britain being made up of thousands of different local markets, with different dynamics of supply and demand, some areas saw an increase in asking prices.

Most expensive UK cities to buy a house in

The UK’s biggest house price hotspots in 2023 revealed

  1. Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset - 20% increase in average asking house price (£1,909,943)
  2. Hulme, Greater Manchester - 16% increase in average asking house price (£275,886)
  3. South Moor, County Durham - 15% increase in average asking house price (£106,671)
  4. Chobham, Surrey - 14% increase in average asking house price (£1,062,483)
  5. Walsgrave, Warwickshire - 14% increase in average asking house price (£257,320)
  6. Dunblane, Stirlingshire - 13% increase in average asking house price (£324,158)
  7. Hockley, Birmingham - 13% increase in average asking house price (£255,121)
  8. Stepps, Glasgow - 13% increase in average asking house price (£252,156)
  9. Shotley Bridge, County Durham - 13% increase in average asking house price (£252,334)
  10. Brotton, Cleveland - 13% increase in average asking house price (£174,837).

Sandbanks in Poole, Dorset is 2023’s price hotspot, with average asking prices increasing by 20% compared to 2022, from £1,586,349 to £1,909,943.

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Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert said: “Even in the more muted market of 2023, many areas across Great Britain saw an increase in asking prices last year.

“Many traditionally popular areas maintained their allure amongst buyers, whilst cheaper areas were also high on the list for buyers last year with affordability stretched.

“Whilst a garden, garage and more land remain high priorities for those searching for a move, we also know from our research that more intangible factors are key to home-hunters when deciding on a move.

“A strong sense of community, friendly neighbours and an area people can feel happy in are some of the most important things movers are looking for.”