UK homebuyers are placing far greater emphasis on transport links when looking for a home, while the square footage of a property has become less important as priorities shift in the post-pandemic climate, according to new research from Market Financial Solutions.

The London-based specialist lender commissioned an independent survey among 412 UK adults who have bought a property in the UK in the past year or are currently buying one. Repeating an identical survey from 2021, MFS asked the homebuyers which factors they considered important during their property hunt.

Broadband and mobile connectivity were cited by 82% of homebuyers as an ‘important’ or ‘very important’, replacing the garden and/or outdoor space (76%) as the single most important factor.

A property’s proximity to public spaces and parks (74%) is up one place since 2021, alongside the quality and finish of the property (74%), which also shares the third-place spot. 

Interestingly, the factor that has risen the most in the list is transport links (74%), which has jumped eight places from 14th in 2021 to sixth in 2024. Conversely, the factor that has fallen the most is the potential for extensions and conversions (62%), dropping from eighth to fourteenth. Similarly, the square footage of a property (72%) has fallen from second in 2021 to seventh this year, underlining that people’s outlook has transformed once again since the Covid era.