At least four out of five millennial buyers prefer laundry rooms, hardwood front exteriors, patios and garage storage. Conversely, they give a thumbs down to elevators, wine cellars and laminate countertops.
These were among the findings from a new study by the NAHB Economics team that focused on millennial home buying preferences.
The 2018 survey asked recent and prospective buyers to rate 175 different features on the following four-tier scale:
- Essential: Unlikely to buy a home without feature
- Desirable: Seriously influenced to buy home if included
- Indifferent: Would not influence purchase decision
- Do Not Want: Not likely to buy a home with feature
No. 1 is a laundry room, which 86% of millennials want. Other features on the top 10 list include a walk-in pantry, exterior lighting, a front porch and table space for eating.
Millennial preferences differed somewhat from baby boomers and seniors. Unlike millennials, boomers did not include a walk-in pantry, front porch, table space for eating and double sink in their list of top 10 amenities. Likewise, seniors omitted a hardwood front exterior, walk-in pantry, front porch and table space for eating from their 10 most wanted features.
Nearly half of millennials (47%) cited elevators as the feature that they are least likely to want, followed by cork flooring in the main living spaces (33%) and wine cellars (32%).
Millennials have also been shifting their preference of master and standard bedrooms over the years. In 2007, 80% preferred one full master bedroom suite plus three standard bedrooms and 20% desired two full master bedroom suites plus one standard bedroom.
By 2018, this 80-20 ratio dropped to 60% and 40%, respectively.
View the full study.
