After Central Air, Buyers Want Walk-In Closets

I have to agree with this article. What is more important to you for your new home? Laura.A.Key@gmail.com

Recent home buyers who want a walk-in closet but didn’t get one in their home say they’re willing to spend $1,350 for one. That’s just one of the important findings in the 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences, released today by the National Association of REALTORS®.

Buyers who wanted new kitchen appliances but didn’t get them say they’re willing to spend $1,840 for them. Those who wanted air conditioning are willing to spend $2,520.

The report looks at 33 home feature preferences based on what a representative sample of U.S. households that bought between 2010 and 2012 say they value. Just over 2,000 households participated.

Among the findings: Households in the South tend to want the biggest and newest homes, and they like wooded lots. Those in the Northeast are most likely to like hardwood floors. First-time buyers and single women are big buyers of older homes. Households with children and move-up buyers like larger homes.

The report also contains these tidbits on buyer preferences:

·        Among buyers 55 and older, 42 percent want a single-level home, compared to just 11 percent of buyers under age 35. Single women also tend to place importance on single-level homes.

·        Single men want finished basements.

·        Single men and married couples place importance on new kitchen appliances.

·        Among all 33 home features in the survey, central air conditioning is the most important to the most buyers; 65 percent consider this very important.

·        The next most important feature is a walk-in closet in the master bedroom; 39 percent considered this very important.

·        Also important — buying a home that’s cable-, satellite TV-, or Internet-ready.

·        Thirty-two percent of buyers say they’re willing to pay a median of $5,420 more for a residence that also has waterfront property, and 40 percent say they’re willing to pay a median of $5,020 more for a home that’s less than five years old.

— Robert Freedman, REALTOR® Magazine

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