Posts filed under ‘Uncategorized’
What property hunters were looking for in April – Zoopla Keyword Search
Just over a year ago we gave you the ability to search property listings on Zoopla.co.uk by any keyword you want. That’s right, any keyword relevant to your property search that are mentioned in the property for sale or to rent details – garage, studio, parking and so on.
Since we launched the feature, the feed back has been great, so we thought we’d start to share with you some of the keywords that those hunting for property are currently looking for.
Don’t forget, you can also use the feature to search for exact phrases by using quotation marks e.g. “double garage”, or to exclude a term you can prefix it with ‘-’ e.g. -studio.
Here is a little more on the Zoopla keyword property search
Top 10 property search keywords – April 2011
| Rank | Property Buyers | Property Renters | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detached | Garden | |
| 2 | Bungalow | Garage | |
| 3 | Garden | Parking | |
| 4 | Garage | Studio | |
| 5 | Cottage | Detached | |
| 6 | Rural | Furnished | |
| 7 | Land / Acres | Rural | |
| 8 | Parking | Balcony | |
| 9 | Character | Bungalow | |
| 10 | Annexe | Bills included |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk – April 2011
Move house and save money, in 3 simple steps…
Move house and save money – how does that work? Well we’ve asked Helen Cripps from uSwitch to explain all in this guest post below…
Whether you have already moved, looking to move or about to move in, take a little shuffle away from the boxes or the property research, enjoy a cup of tea and a chocolate digestive and see what the energy experts uSwitch have to say about saving money in your new home…
1. You can save up to £316 just by switching gas and electricity suppliers!
A word of warning – if you don’t shop around, you will automatically be put onto a standard tariff, which can cost an average of £1211 a year, compared with the cheapest online deals which cost an average of a £895 a year. It may be that you have moved to a new area, to a different sized house, or even just next door, either way it’s always worth 10 minutes online to compare gas and electricity prices. Even though it may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of moving mayhem, the potential to save £316 per year really is not. It could be the cost of a removal company for a day, or at least 15 takeaways to help you ease into your new kitchen. At uSwitch all you need is your postcode!
2. While you have an empty space, make it an energy efficient space…
Whether refurbishing or not, the likelihood is that the majority of your belongings are still in boxes and that your new living space is still relatively clear. So now is the time to look at what small changes could be made to your surroundings that will save money in the months to come. Loft insulation, for example, can save you £128 per year. And let’s face it, when is your loft likely to be empty again? The insulation can be installed effectively (in a fool-proof DIY fashion) in under 2 hours! It might be just the displacement activity you’re looking for to avoid unpacking boxes. It’s definitely worth having a scout around to consider what money-saving measures you could implement that are not going to cost a fortune.
3. New surroundings – new habits?
There’s a link between habitat and habits, so moving house is a great opportunity to establish new routines and ditch some of the old ones. It could be a good time for a quick energy-saving makeover. With everything being unfamiliar, you get the chance to make a fresh start, or at least try and re-programme any lazy patterns of behaviour, like the obvious – leaving things switched on.
Here’s what a few appliances had to say…
“Unplug me! If I’m left plugged in I have to keep going. Waste of my energy, waste of your energy! Charge me at work for a couple of hours; you’re less likely to leave me plugged in for too long then.”
Overused Phone charger, Brighton
“Give me more powernaps! If you’re not using me, let me sleep. I don’t want to be logged into Facebook all day.”
Tired Computer, London
“We’re sick of standby! Neither on nor off, we just wait around, tapping our feet like Sonic the Hedgehog and wasting our energy!”
Just married Television & DVD Player, Suffolk
You’re probably now thinking – is my television on standby? Did I switch the bedroom light off? And when did I last check if I am with the cheapest Electricity supplier? Hopefully you have been inspired to make at least a couple of small changes to your home and habits. Time to start patching up that moving-house-sized hole in your wallet.
Zoopla.co.uk is back on TV with a cheeky new advert!
When searching for the one – the perfect home, that is – we firmly believe information is the key to making the right property decisions. Whether it’s one that may gain a few pounds or a slightly older one with lots of character, visit Zoopla.co.uk for all the tips and tools on how to make sure you improve your chances in the property market with Zoopla.co.uk.
We’d love to know what you think of it – so leave a comment below, share with the buttons below or ‘like’ the new Zoopla TV advert on Facebook here.
If you want to know who’s who in the advert all is revealed here
Thanks!
Wills and Kate’s first official residence valued at £47m – Zoopla.co.uk
So far we’ve resisted the temptation to jump on the Royal Wedding bandwagon…until now.
We’re a little curious here at Zoopla.co.uk and couldn’t resist working out just how big Kate Middleton’s right royal property trade up actually is. It’s pretty spectacular, especially considering they are effectively first time buyers! Despite the young royals being the same age as the average first-time buyer (29 years old), their first marital digs will be worth 343 times the average newlywed starter-home (£137,000) in Britain.
Despite her very comfortable upbringing, Kate is about to make a trade-up in the property stakes unlike any other bride-to-be.
Following their wedding, it is reported that William and Kate will make Clarence House in central London their first official home. Spanning over 40,000 sq feet in SW1, we value the property at over £47m.
Here are Kate Middleton’s Royal Property Trade-Up stats:
- Wills and Kate’s first official residence valued at £47m
- Worth 343x the average starter-home for first time buyers
- From 5-bedrooms in Bucklebury…to a 52-bedroom palace
- But…Buckingham Palace has fallen in value by £95m (8.8%) over the last 3 years
At the weekends Kate and Wills will have the use of Windsor Castle, which we value at £171m, as a weekend country retreat. Another property beyond the wildest imagination of most young couples. With over 1,000 rooms and running to more than 484,000 sq feet, Windsor Castle is the world’s largest occupied castle and comes with its own park and chapel.
Whilst the success of Kate’s parents’ mail order business has afforded them a five bedroom home worth a good deal more than the UK average, Kate will be moving out of the family home in the village of Bucklebury and trading up substantially from a property perspective in the coming weeks. Average house prices on The Avenue, where her parents live, are currently £790,951 and range from cottages worth £470,000 to detached houses worth more than £1.5m, making it one of Bucklebury’s most expensive streets.
When the future King William and Queen Catherine finally take up permanent residence at Buckingham Palace in due course, they will occupy the world’s most valuable residential property, currently valued by us at over £982m. With 600 rooms, including 19 state rooms, 52 bedrooms, a cinema, swimming pool, helipad and its own post office and police station, it is the planet’s ultimate pad and perfect for what many hope will be a growing family.
But, despite the jaw-dropping values of their property portfolio, the royal family has not been immune to the property market downturn and has seen the values of its various property assets fall over the past few years along with the rest of country. Buckingham Palace has fallen in value by £95m (8.8%) over the last 3 years, whilst Windsor Castle and Clarence House have each lost £27m and £4.5m in value respectively over the same period.
Kate is certainly the envy of many, not only landing her Prince but also getting a dream property portfolio at the same time. Luckily for the young royal couple, they will not need to secure a mortgage before moving into their new digs, as even they might find it a challenge in the current lending climate and on William’s RAF salary!
As always, please feel free to share and use this information, all we ask is that you credit the source as Zoopla.co.uk and link to either Zoopla.co.uk or blog.zoopla.co.uk. Thank you.
