The balancing act of buying

Right house, wrong location; right location, wrong house. Just how do you find that dream property – and does it even exist in today’s property market, asks Jennifer Morgan

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Heart over head or head over heart… that is the question. As the property market looks for its own ‘new normal’, has the way we choose a new home changed? Is it the right house on the wrong street or the not-quite-right house in the preferred location?

Always one to love a property dilemma, Channel 4’s latest property programme, Perfect House, Secret Location, presented by Steve Jones, sees prospective buyers shown around a range of dream properties but without knowing where in the UK their potential homes are. Going completely blindfolded into a house, the house hunters could be in for a pleasant surprise when they discover just how far their budgets could stretch around the country.

‘Last year saw significant growth in average asking prices across so many areas of Great Britain,’ says Tim Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove. ‘Strong competition for available properties, driven by low stock and high demand, has propped up asking prices throughout the year, and agents report that having multiple bidders for available properties will continue to be a theme at least until summer, although we do expect a better balance of supply and demand during 2022 and some fresh property choice for buyers.’