“Must-Have” Amenities for Today’s Home Buyers

The National Association of Home Builders conducted a study to determine the household features developers expect to most frequently include in new construction homes. This also can be an indication of what homeowners who are remodeling can be expected to want and include. Here are the highlights from a Main Street article on the study:

Master bedroom walk-in closet

A walk-in closet in the master bedroom ranked the number one most desired item in the survey.

Laundry rooms

Today’s state-of-the-art laundry rooms can have skylights, clothes folding areas, and modern features compared to laundry rooms of yore, with “basically the ability to do pretty much everything but fold the laundry and put it away for you,” said Stephen Melman of NAHB.

Energy-efficient windows, appliances, and thermostats

“Low-e” windows tied laundry rooms for second place. Programmable thermostats and Energy Star-approved windows and appliances tied for fourth place. “The whole trend in new-home construction is to help people be more efficient with everything and make their lives easier.”

Great rooms

Third in the NAHB study were great rooms — large open spaces that sometimes take the place of traditional standard rooms, such as dining rooms, livings rooms, and even kitchens. These large rooms “are wonderful places where everyone in the family can sit around, or where the kids can do their homework while you get dinner ready.”

High ceilings on the first floor

Interestingly, the study found homebuyers want tall ceilings on the first floor, but not necessarily on the second floor. This may be because homeowners like an open feel in the living areas, while preferring a cozier feel in, for example, upstairs bedrooms.

We’ve also noticed clients want outdoor living spaces. What are your “must-haves” for your next home?