48% selected price and affordability. 24% selected quality of the property; 14% selected distance to university; and 14% selected who you are living with.
How all 21 respondents answered
Respondents selected one answer from four options.
Percentages are based on the published response counts. Where whole-number percentages are shown, totals may differ slightly from 100% because of rounding.
Affordability is the strongest single factor in this housing snapshot
Price leads clearly
Price and affordability received twice the share of property quality.
Property quality came second
Five respondents selected the quality of the property.
Location and housemates tied
Distance to university and who you are living with each received three responses.
Student housing decisions often involve trade-offs
Rent is usually one of the largest regular costs students face, so a property can stop being realistic before other benefits are considered if the price is too high.
Property quality still came second, suggesting respondents were not thinking about cost in isolation. Students may be weighing what they receive for the rent as well as the headline price.
How to report this poll accurately
Keep the response base and indicative audience label attached to the headline finding.
How this poll was recorded
- Question
- Which factor matters most when you are choosing a place to live?
- Responses
- 21 total responses
- Date recorded
- 17 August 2026
- Collection
- Instagram Stories
- Evidence label
- Indicative first-party Unifresher audience poll
This is an audience poll rather than a population survey. It is useful as a snapshot of the respondents who took part and should not be described as representative of every UK university student.
Questions readers ask next
What was the most common answer?
48% selected “Price and affordability”, making it the largest answer in this poll.
How many respondents chose the top answer?
10 of 21 respondents selected “Price and affordability”.
What was the second most selected answer?
24% selected “Quality of the property”, equal to 5 responses.
Is this representative of all UK students?
No. This is an indicative Unifresher audience poll with 21 responses, not a nationally representative student survey.
How should this result be reported?
Keep the 21-response base, collection date and indicative-audience label attached to the finding.
Explore more student attitudes
Cite this poll
Unifresher poll, “Which factor matters most when you are choosing a place to live?”, 21 responses, recorded 17 August 2026. Unifresher Data Hub.
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