Realtor.com recently performed a survey of home buyers. The survey asked what the buyers were looking for in their new home. The biggest surprise for me was that the most desirable style of home is a ranch. I would’ve said a center hall colonial. And to go along with that ranch, the buyers want a big backyard and an updated kitchen. A garage is also important to them.
Over 50% of the buyers want three bedrooms. And 75% of them want a home with 2 bathrooms.
Younger buyers are looking for attached homes, as in townhouses or condos. They also have a great interest in living in a town with a good school system. This makes sense as they have already started, or are planning on starting their families. As the buyers age, they are looking for detached single family homes.
Many of us believe the younger buyers are looking for that big, impressive colonial, but that’s not what they want. And some of the items they do not seem to want are a “man cave”, a guest house or solar panels.
Interestingly, older buyers seem to prefer a garage over a formal living room. These older buyers also prefer their privacy the most. The millennial generation seems to be concentrated on filling their family needs. Life events, such as marriage or an increase in family size is their motivation to purchase a new home. The buyers aged 35 to 44 also are motivated by their family’s needs, and they are also looking for the good school districts They buyers over 45 are saying their chief motivation is to downsize as they begin planning for their retirement.
What does this information mean to you? Well. If you’re planning to sell in the near future, you can use this information to plan how to highlight your home’s features when it time to sell.