Home Buyers Prefer A/C to Being Near Family and Friends

When it comes to making sacrifices to afford a home, most buyers value air conditioning more than proximity to their loved ones.

Zillow data shows that more than three quarters (76%) of all home buyers say air conditioning is very or extremely important, compared to just 47% who give proximity to family and friends the same importance. New construction buyers are even colder: 85% say air conditioning is very or extremely important — making it their number one desired home characteristic — versus 41% who say the same about living close to family and friends.

Buyers in the hot and humid South rank air conditioning over proximity to family and friends more than any other region. Almost twice the share of total buyers there (87.6%) value it more than being near family and friends (44%). And in Phoenix, where temperatures often reach triple digits before the first day of summer, nearly every home buyer (96.5%) says air conditioning is very or extremely important compared to only 31.9% who rank proximity to family and friends the same.

Age can also dictate what buyers want in a home. Baby boomers have the biggest gap between the importance of air conditioning (76.2%) and living near family and friends (36.3%), but silent generation buyers (age 74+) have the highest preference for air conditioning (89.5%) over any other generation — possibly because these buyers are more likely to live in warmer climates.

Splitting new construction buyers between those over 50 and those under 50 shows where they part ways on preferences for air conditioning versus being close to family and friends. Nearly the same share of buyers over 50 (88%) and under 50 (84%) say air conditioning is very or extremely important, but more than half (51%) of younger new construction buyers say it’s very or extremely important to be close to friends and family compared to only 39% of over-50 buyers who say the same.

Picking must-have features for their homes is always a challenge for buyers, but choosing interior comfort over a shorter trip to family and friends will probably win more often than not.