Among first-time home buyers, a laundry room ranked as the most popular of the more than 200 home and community features listed in the recent NAHB study, What Home Buyers Really Want, 2021 Edition. The study is based on a nationwide survey of 3,247 recent and prospective home buyers, including 541 who bought, or were about to buy, their first homes.
The chart below shows the ten features “most wanted” by first-time home buyers, based on the percentage of buyers rating a feature either desirable or essential. At the top of the list according to this metric is a laundry room, rated essential or desirable by 83 percent of first-time buyers, followed by a ceiling fan and exterior lighting, each rated essential or desirable by 81 percent.
Four of the features most wanted by first-time buyers are kitchen features: a double kitchen sink and walk-in pantry (each rated essential or desirable by 80 percent of first-time buyers), drinking water filtration (78 percent) and table space for eating (77 percent). Two are outdoor features: a patio (rated essential or desirable by 78 percent) in addition to exterior lighting. Rounding out the top ten are hardwood flooring for living spaces on the main floor (80 percent) and security cameras (78 percent).
This post was originally published on NAHB’s Eye on Housing blog, where NAHB’s economists discuss the latest housing data and policy.
