What Buyers Want

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What Buyers Want

BY ROBERT FREEDMAN

Cars and Cable

Buyers have energy efficiency on their minds, but they still like their big houses and multiple cars, too.

If you want to know the direction of your customers? homebuying preferences, think big cars and big screens.

Almost 60 percent of home buyers are prepared to spend more for a house with an oversized garage, and almost 40 percent would do the same to get a house that?s ready for cable or satellite TV, NAR research shows.

Both of these figures are up substantially from 2004, when NAR conducted similar research. In that year, buyers were willing to spend a premium in only 6 percent of cases for a big garage and in less than 30 percent of cases for enhanced TV readiness.

With their rise, oversized garages now rank second among the most desired features buyers want, up from fifth place three years ago. TV readiness has also edged up.

?Everybody has become so dependent on their cars and on technology, for both work and personal use, that they?re expecting homes to have these amenities now,? says Fran Davis, chair of the NAR Economic Issues and Residential Real Estate Business Trends Forum and a sales manager at Coldwell Banker Burnet in Minneapolis.

Of all the preferred features, central air conditioning is far and away the most important. That was the case in 2004, and it continues to be No. 1 this year.

Other important features: walk-in closets in the master bedroom and separate showers in the master bath. Also big: patios, porches, and fencing.

New on the list: backyards with a play area and wiring for high-speed Internet.

The findings are from NAR?s 2007 Profile of Buyers? Home Feature Preferences, released in early August.