With the current housing shortage in the UK, there have been a number of plans set in motion by the Government to help build 300,000 homes per year. From family homes to apartment blocks and rural conversions, the focus is on future-proofing the country for its housing needs.

A new survey from AXA Insurance questioned the public on which direction the design of homes will go over the next 20 years.

One of the biggest changes to life at home across the last decade is the number of homes that serve multiple purposes. While in the past a home was a place to relax, home offices have become almost common in the modern day as working from home becomes more and more prominent.

Currently, 29% of respondents have a dedicated office within their home, whilst 64% of them believe that working from home will grow in popularity, with home offices predicted to become a standard house feature over the next 10 years.

As a nation, we love our gadgets as more and more new technology seems to find its way into our homes. The survey found that 26% of respondents believed that over the next 5 years, homes will feature home assistant technology such as Alexa or Hive as standard.

The smart devices won’t stop there either, as 26% think that over the next 10 years all televisions and monitors in a home will become smart screens and offer a multitude of functions.

Almost 1 in 5 think that homes built in the next decade will be more robust, built to deal with more extreme weather and the same amount of survey participants believe that homes will be more environmentally friendly and solar panels will be more prevalent.

In terms of getting around town, 20% feel that electric cars will see a surge in popularity over the next decade and 25% think that over the same period, charging points at home will become more common.

Managing Director at AXA Insurance – Gareth Howell – spoke on the results of the survey, he said “Throughout the decades AXA has seen a number of changes in the way people live their lives and the homes they reside in. Today more than ever, people are starting to use their homes for multiple purposes and are relying more heavily on new technology, and this is set to continue. In the next five, ten and twenty years we expect homes to change once again, but into what is a conversation we all need to have.”