Real Estate Trends and Tips… What Home Buyers Really Want

In May, 2013 the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) published a report for the purpose of providing its members the most current and accurate information on home buyer preferences so that they can deliver the home that today’s buyers want and are willing to pay for.

Are your preferences included in this report? Questions, comments – please call or email me at 727-686-2859 or estelia@estelia.com

Key findings:

• Just over half of all home buyers would like to buy a brand new home; 28 percent from a builder and 27 percent custom built on their own land. An existing home is the first preference of the other 45 percent.
• Buyers expect to pay about $203,900 for their next home.
• Buyers want a home with a median 2,226 square feet, about 17 percent bigger than what they have now – 1,906 square feet.
• For 25 percent of buyers, the size of the lot is not important when choosing a home.
• Nearly half (47 percent) want three bedrooms, while 32 percent want four. The majority (65 percent) prefer either 2 or 2½ bathrooms.
• Most home buyers (57 percent) prefer a single-story home; 31 percent prefer two stories.
• Sixty-six percent of buyers want to have a full or partial basement.
• Nearly half (48 percent) of buyers who want a 2-story home want the master bedroom on the second floor, while a majority (70 percent) prefer the washer and dryer on the first floor.
• Most buyers want a 2-car garage (53 percent). About 1 in 5 wants a 3+car garage.
• For 65 percent of buyers, the most influential characteristic when buying a home is “living space and number of rooms that meet their needs.”
• Buyers focus on quality and appearance when looking at most home components (flooring, doors, kitchen countertops and cabinets, carpeting etc.). When looking for appliances, however, the focus is on quality and brand name.
• Of more than 120 features rated as “essential/must have,” “desirable,” “indifferent,” or “do not want,” a total of 11 are wanted (i.e. rated essential or desirable) by 85 percent or more of home buyers. This “most wanted” list shows buyers are most interested in two themes: energy efficiency and organization/storage in their homes. Energy-star rated appliances and windows, as well as a laundry room and garage storage, are wanted by the vast majority of home buyers