What customers want in homes today

I was surprised when I read the new statistics from NAR's survey of homebuyers.

Home buyers in increasing numbers want larger garages. Among buyers who purchased homes without this feature, 56% of them said they would have paid more for an oversize garage.

Other priorities include Central Air ( virtually all homes in the desert already have it), a walk-in closed in the master bedroom, hardwood or tile floors and granite counter tops.

According to the survey, nearly 6 our of 10 recent home buyers took on remodeling of kitchen or bathrooms within 3 months of purchasing their home. The fact that a majority of home buyers quickly remodel key areas of their homes ties into the fact that their home is a good long-term investment. According to Paul Bishop, NAR manager of real estate research "Regardles of market conditions in the short term, when purchased for the log term, housing is one of the safest investments consumers can make.

Energy efficiency was more important to new home buyers than buyers of existing homes. Older buyers placed a higher priority on energy efficiency than did younger buyers.