LONDON, August 30 /PRNewswire/ --



- ATTN: Birmingham Editors

Birmingham is among the UK's top five best cities for spacious
properties, new research reveals today.

Based on the average national house price(i), Birmingham is
shown to be head and shoulders above most other cities, with the average
property in the city providing 125 square metres of room - higher than
Leicester in the East Midlands with 1% more space, and a massive 145% more
than a same-value property in London.

Instant Access Properties, the country's largest property-sourcing
company, audited 15 locations across the UK(i) to see where the best returns
are for living space.

The full results of the audit are as follows:
    
    1. Bradford     149 sq. m
    2. Sheffield    129 sq. m
    2. Glasgow      129 sq. m
    4. Liverpool    128 sq. m
    5. Birmingham   125 sq. m
    6. Leicester    124 sq. m
    7. Manchester   122 sq. m
    8. Newcastle    120 sq. m
    9. Leeds        118 sq. m
    10. Belfast     116 sq. m
    11. Cardiff     112 sq. m
    12. Bristol      98 sq. m
    13. Edinburgh    90 sq. m
    14. Brighton     78 sq. m
    15. London       51 sq. m



The importance of living space to the city's homeowners is
also clear with over two fifths (43%) of local homeowners saying they are fed
up of small and pokey properties, according to the 'Price of Space'
report(ii) by Instant Access Properties. One in five (20%) also said they had
made a compromise on living space when they purchased their current homes.

Whilst the mantra for prospective buyers has long been
'location, location, location', nearly a quarter (24%) of house hunters in
Birmingham said they would forego a house in the vicinity of good schools,
transport links and amenities, just to have a bit more room.

Pierre Williams, Head of Communications for Instant Access
Properties, comments: "Our research shows that living space is becoming an
increasingly important factor in the house-buying decision. The fact that so
many people are considering moving home to get more space speaks volumes.

"The squeeze on living space has been greatly exacerbated by
planning policy which has strongly encouraged the building of smaller homes
in order to reduce land use for building. That's why we put together the city
buyers' guide as part of the report - to give house hunters an idea of the
best locations in the country for living space."

Pamela Brown, former property expert for ITV1's GMTV, added:
"We live in a constantly expanding world, and our property requirements
follow this format accordingly. The bottom line will always be value for
money and quality of life, but as circumstances change, people are not solely
driven by the locality of a property to their place of work.

"So size does matter, especially for the changing family unit.
Teenagers now want more of their own room to accommodate computers and music
systems, while the increase in working from home has also brought about the
need for 'office space' in the home."

The 'Price of Space' report also revealed that over two fifths
(43%) of current homeowners in Birmingham are considering building an
extension to add on a few square metres, and nearly one in five (17%) have
looked at splitting one room into two to create the impression of more floor
space.

Almost half (49%) of people in Birmingham plan to redecorate
their homes, and well over two fifths (44%) want to refurbish their kitchens.

(i) Using average house price (GBP198,915) and regional cost per square
metre from Halifax House Price Index

(ii) Instant Access Properties commissioned YouGov to speak to 1,430
British homeowners in August, 2007

Notes to Editors:

Instant Access Properties has more than 8,500 members and has sourced
more than GBP550m in quality residential property over the last 12 months.
Instant Access Properties members have consistently been the largest buyers
of new build property in the UK, Florida and Spain investor markets.