Forget the stately home or a city penthouse, new research released today reveals that Britain's dream home is a three bedroom semi-detached house in a rural village.   And as well as wanting a home attached to their next door neighbours, the British appear keen to have their friends round.  The most sought-after feature of this dream home is a large open plan kitchen/diner and living area, perfect for entertaining.

The study, carried out as part of AA Home Emergency Response's research series entitled "AA State of the Nation's Homes", found that 18% of adults aspire to own a semi-detached house with two to three bedrooms, the most popular type of property.  The most desired location is a rural village, which is top of the list for 28% of people.

Half the adult population (49%) would like views of mountains or countryside, marginally more than would like to see the sea from their windows (48%).  While men and women are well matched in their most desired panorama, there could be a battle between the sexes over the interior layout of their dream home.  Twice as many men as women (37% v 18%) would include a games room in their ultimate home and 50% more men than women (26% v 17%) want their own cinema at home.

The view that females are the more nurturing sex is borne out by the fact that 29% of women want their dream home to have grounds for livestock, such as a chicken run, compared with 22% of men.

The research also indicates that in the long run, increased demand could see the price of rural properties rise significantly as 34% of people want to live in a rural location, yet these areas currently account for only 18% of the housing stock.

The features most desired by British adults in their dream home:

 The types of property which Britons aspire to own:

The location in which Britons would like to live in their dream home:

Tom Stringer, Head of AA Home Emergency Response, said: "We are used to drivers dreaming about owning cars most of us are never likely to afford, such as a Ferrari.  However, when it comes to houses, the research shows that we are much more realistic and that for many of us, our dream home is likely to be within our reach."