'Parking' and 'gardens' top search terms for renters in East of England

Parking and a garden are two of the most searched-for features for rental properties in the East of England, according to data analysed by a leading property website.

Ranking data was collected from the keyword search tool on Zoopla between July and September 2020, revealing that ‘garden’ and ‘parking’ were the most popular searches, followed by ‘garage’.

This reflected a similar picture across the UK, which highlighted parking as an important feature across England, and a garden the most searched-for term in Scotland and Wales.

Parking and a garage ranked among the top search terms for users on Zoopla looking for a place to live in the East of England - Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

‘Balcony’ ranked fourth overall and is the number one searched-for feature in inner-city areas, like London, where garden spaces are harder to find.

‘Pets’, ‘flooring’ and ‘bills included’ also featured in the top ten search terms, alongside ‘en suite’, ‘rural’ and ‘studio’.

The data reflects a number of home trends that emerged during the lockdown last year.

A recent study suggested that the price of homes with gardens has hit a four-year high, while data released last year also showed that more people were looking to move to the countryside.

A garden was among the top search terms utilised by Zoopla users in the East of England - Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Searches for pet-friendly rentals ranked fifth overall, despite only 7pc of landlords currently advertising homes suitable for pets.

Tom Parker, consumer expert at Zoopla, suggested that the unprecedented events of last year had changed what renters were looking for.

"The priorities that renters once looked for pre-lockdown may have changed to match the times we’ve been living in, particularly with gardens having become the most desirable feature across the whole of the UK," he said.

“We saw rental demand increase by 20% this year compared to last, with many factors contributing to this growth.

"Whilst there was positive news with the stamp duty holiday, some first-time buyers had to put their homeownership plans on hold and remain in the rental market this year, and the annual influx of students going to university in autumn elevated the demand even more."