Purchasing a home is a big investment, so buyers want to make sure they get as many of their “wish list” items as possible in the home they wind up purchasing. While every home and every buyer is different, there are some clear-cut winners when it comes to the home features that buyers prefer, according to the National Association of Realtors 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences.
The survey of households that had purchased any type of residential real estate during 2010 to 2012 and still owned the property showed that among all 33 home features in the survey, central air conditioning was the most important to the most buyers. Other features that ranked high on many buyers’ lists include a walk-in closet in the master bedroom, an eat-in kitchen, an en-suite master bathroom, and a home that was cable-, satellite TV-, and/or Internet ready.
According to the survey results, buyers are willing to pay more for certain features and rooms. In fact, the features on which buyers placed the highest dollar value were waterfront properties and homes that were less than five years old. When it came to specific rooms that buyers wanted, the two most common rooms they would be willing to spend more for were a laundry room and a den/study/home office/library.
