The National Association of Realtors’ 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences is one the largest, most complete studies of what preferences homebuyers have when purchasing their residences.

1. What Homebuyers Want in Their
New Home, Pt. 1
NAR’s 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences
What homebuyers want in their new homes.

2. 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences
Main features buyers want in their new homes
• Garages continued to be a huge selling point for homebuyers, with 78
percent of all homebuyers purchasing a home with a garage; new
homebuyers, Midwesterners and suburbanites were especially loving
towards garages.
• Though 41 percent of homebuyers bought homes with basements, it was
a more common feature in the Midwest and Northeast, while Southerners
typically bought the largest homes at an average of 2,000 square feet. Age
was a very important factor.
• Among homebuyers 55 and older, 42 percent considered finding a single-
level home important, compared to just 11 percent of homebuyers aged
35 and under; interestingly, single men preferred homes with finished
basements, while women preferred single-level homes, while single men
and married couples preferred homes with new kitchen appliances.

3. 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences
Main features buyers want in their new homes
• Unsurprisingly, central air conditioning was the biggest demand for
homebuyers, with 65 percent considering the feature “very important” to
their home search; that was followed by a walk-in closet with 39 percent,
an en-suite master bathroom and finally, cable/satellite TV/Internet
capabilities.
• Those features did indeed influence what homes were ultimately purchase
– of the homebuyers who rated central AC and cable et. al. as very or
somewhat important, an incredible 94 percent were true to their word,
buying homes with those very featured. Also important was an eat-in
kitchen, with 89 percent of homebuyers who valued that feature buying
such properties.