Searches for UK homes with air conditioning more than double

Most owners would consider installing aircon as heatwaves lead buyers to focus on ability to stay cool, Rightmove says Searches for homes for sale in the UK with air conditioning have more than doubled this summer as heatwaves push staying cool up the list of priorities for homebuyers, alongside nearness to good schools and transport links. In the week of the UK’s fifth heatwave, in which temperatures in parts of England hit 38C, the property website Rightmove said the heat was influencing how Britons thought about their homes, with more people paying attention to how comfortable a property would be during hotter weather. Searches on its site this summer for homes for sale with air conditioning were up 104% compared with the same period last year. The website also published consumer research showing that 61% of people said they would consider installing air conditioning, though only 12% had already done so. Meanwhile, 87% said that a property’s ability to stay cool was important when choosing their next home. A report published in May by the UK’s Climate Change Committee said hotter heatwaves could lead to 92% of existing homes overheating by 2050, adding that they may require air