The property listing platform has analysed the data from its 'Keyword Sort' tool - where buyers can search specific terms to narrow down their hunt for a home - and found that searches for homes for sale with air conditioning have more than tripled (+234%) compared to this time last year. And it's not just buyers who are feeling the heat - searches for homes to rent with air conditioning are up 74%, too.
Interestingly, the searches seem to correlate with the temperature outside: on 19th July, which was the record-breaking day when some places in the UK hit more than 40 degrees Celsuis, the searches for air conditioned homes rose 280% for buyers and 180% for renters compared to the same day in 2021.
The number of available property listings mentioning air conditioning has also more than quadrupled compared to this time last year. This is likely a combination of more homes having the feature, and more agents highlighting it as a key selling point as temperatures rise and people imagine next summer in their new home.
However, those dreaming of a new home with air conditioning may have found their choice limited, as homes for either sale or to rent with air conditioning still make up less than 1% of all available properties despite the rise in mentions.
There has also been an increase in agents highlighting other features and using key terms to describe how a home may stay cool in the summer for buyers and renters, ahead of more potential hot summers.
Mentions of ‘ceiling fan’ have increased seven times (+629%), ‘airy’ six times (+526%) and ‘shade’ five times (+405%).
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Property Expert comments:
“During the hottest days of the year we’ve seen people across the UK jump straight onto Rightmove to see where they could live with the luxury of air conditioning. Though they make up a very small portion of the current property market, homes with air-con and other features that keep a home cool could attract even more interest in the future if we experience similarly hot summers, and these features rise up the priority list.”
“Demand for air conditioning often spikes in the summer months as temperatures rise and homeowners look for ways to keep cool at home. Across June and July last year, homeowners posted 91% more air conditioning jobs compared to April and May. This year, that summer demand is higher than ever, thanks to the record-breaking prolonged heat in the UK. Air conditioning requests jumped by 116% across June and July compared to the two months before, with many homeowners finding this summer too hot to handle and looking at air conditioning as a way to either cool down fast or get ahead of the next heatwave!”
Oliver Cooney, Group Sustainability Advisor at Cala said:
“We expect that the increased search volumes for air conditioning are from people living in older properties, as new homes are well insulated and therefore more thermally efficient. People often associate thermal efficiency with keeping warm, but it also works to keep heat out during the summer too. So, as we continue to build new homes more sustainably, with better insulation and features such as triple glazed windows, their thermal efficiency will continue to improve.”
