LONDON, August 30 /PRNewswire/ --



- ATTN: Edinburgh Editors

Edinburgh is one of the worst cities in the country for spacious
properties, new research reveals today.

Based on the average national house price(i), Edinburgh properties are
shown to be lacking the kind of living space that can be found in other 
locations, with the average property in the city providing 90 square
metres of room - 43% less than Glasgow.

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 half (52%) 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. Nearly a quarter (23%) 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', one third (32%) of house hunters in Edinburgh
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 a third
(35%) of current homeowners in Edinburgh are considering building an
extension to add on a few square metres, and over a tenth (12%) have looked
at splitting one room into two to create the impression of more floor space.

Nearly two fifths (37%) of people plan to redecorate their
homes and 39% 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.