By Enzo Mora, founder and CEO at The Mortgage Brain 

What would your dream home look like and where would it be? Property portal Rightmove asked the nation, and the results are surprising.

Apparently, we're not looking for the latest gismos, luxury swimming pools and walk-in wardrobes - writes Brain Enzo Mora, founder and CEO of The Mortgage Brain.

Instead, we'd happily plump for a four-bedroom detached house in a coastal village with two living rooms, two bathrooms, a garden, garage, utility room and an office.

Maybe the pandemic has made us appreciate the less flashy accoutrements in life when we're thinking of buying a place to call home. The scramble for outdoor space due to home working has certainly seen record numbers of buyers searching online for homes with gardens.

Rightmove's survey also found that for 18-34-year-olds, a home office is their number one priority for an extra room, while the 65 plus age group liked the idea of a conservatory. Understandably, first-time buyers were the only group who would rather live in a town close to bars, restaurants, gyms and transport connections.

When it comes to shopping, Tesco narrowly beat Waitrose as the most popular supermarket to live near, however, there are clear regional favourites, with the south plumping for Waitrose, Sainsbury's topping the charts in Yorkshire and the Humber and Aldi the go-to supermarket in Scotland and the West Midlands.

Whatever dream home is on the horizon, affordability is often a crunch point for movers. The latest ONS figures show that the average UK house price was £256,000 in July 2021, which is £19,000 higher than this time last year, following the record high of £265,000 in June. However, on the plus side, interest rates remain low and mortgage availability high.

We often find clients underestimate how much they can borrow and are pleasantly surprised to find their dream home is within their reach.

Our simple to use mortgage calculator is a great start whatever you are hoping to buy, be it a brand-new family home, a first property or an investment with a buy-to-let mortgage.

The Mortgage Brain's advisers can also rapidly locate the latest lender deals so it's a stress-free start to achieving your property dreams.

To find out more about The Mortgage Brain and its services, visit www.themortgagebrain.net or call 0333 340 8888.