Living in a detached house is the dream for the vast majority of people in the UK, new research reveals.

A castle was once the fantasy home of the nation, but it appears dreams have become more realistic as priorities change. Even bungalows are now more popular than castles, while flats are preferred to historic mansions.

The survey by a mortgage broker paints a picture of realism as people realise the limits of their finances.

Some 19.3% of those polled admitted they hope to own a detached house at some point in the future.

A further 12.9% dream of one day residing in a bungalow and 6.5% want to live in a flat or apartment.

Just 6.1% of respondents, on the other hand, harbour ambitions of living in their own castle or historic mansion.

A converted barn or church, meanwhile, is the least popular with 5.6%, suggesting that size really doesn't matter to homeowners.

But while how many bedrooms a residential property has is no longer the be-all and end-all, location certainly is.

As many as 17.2% of those surveyed aspire to owning a little cottage in the country, 15% have dreams of living in a farmhouse with its own land and 4.7% want to live in a city townhouse or terrace.

The most popular choice across the UK is a detached house. In the East Midlands and Yorkshire, however, more respondents plump for dream of owning a cottage in the country at 18.1% and 16.9% respectively.

A farmhouse with smallholding is the most popular choice in Northern Ireland, the South West of England and Wales, at 22.2%, 19.9% and 21.9% respectively, while in the North East of England most people dream of one day owning a bungalow at 19.1%.

Strutt & Parker recently conducted a Housing Futures survey which uncovered very similar findings.

Stephanie McMahon, Head of Research at Strutt & Parker said: “Our survey which had 1,000 respondents also showed that future homebuyers were looking for detached homes – ideally, period properties with gardens that are close to amenities.

"In fact out of all housing types, 82.9% people said they were looking for a detached home, followed by just 8.3% for flats. The preferred characteristics of these homes were, in descending order: period, cottage, new construction and conversion (tied), and postwar/modern.

"On a regional basis, cottages were the most desired type of home in the north east, whilst the south east was the driving force behind the postwar/modern style, bringing it into the top five.”