- Great School Districts. This is by far the number one thing that I’m asked to find for most buyers. Schools are a priority for parents and being in a strong school district tends to increase the market value of your home.
- At least one bedroom downstairs. Whether it’s due to convenience or mobility issues, many buyers prefer having at least one bedroom downstairs if the home is two levels and agents get many requests for this type of floor plan.
- Newer rooves. While buyers don’t necessarily come to us asking for this feature, when they fall in love with the home, it’s one of the first questions that they ask about the home and if the roof is more than 15 years old it will often cause the buyer to pass up the home and look elsewhere due to the complexities and expense of the replacing the roof.
- Updated kitchens. Buyers like kitchens that are bright light and the open floor plan is still very popular.
- Lots of light. Buyers tend to like homes with lots of windows and natural light.
- Good sized backyards. Buyers want to have backyard BBQs, playscapes for kids, and sometimes put in future pools so a good sized back yard is still among the top 10 requested buyer search items.
- Privacy. This is another item that buyers tend to not know they want it until they see a home without it. Agents often here while we are touring the home that they love the floorplan but the home has no privacy in the backyard and that can demotivate the buyer from making an offer
- Storage space. Yes, buyers will absolutely look the closets when they visit the home. Many second time home buyers realize quickly the value of storage space and will be actively searching out homes with more storage space when they move up to larger floorplans.
- Updated bathrooms. This is another item that buyers tend not to ask for, but makes a big impact in whether or not they make an offer. Bathrooms can be a hasstle and expensive to remodel so if yours is updated that will be one less thing that the buyer will have to budget for when making improvements to the home and that just might be the tipping point between your home and your competition.
- No carpets. Whether due to allergies or just design preferences, we often get this request from buyers as they give us their list of wants for their new homes. Buyers these days would prefer hard surface floors and rugs over installed carpets.
- Garages. Homes that have converted garages take longer to sell and sell for less than homes with garages. Even if you don’t need or like the garage your future buyer may put a high value on having one. If your garage is currently converted, we recommend converting it back to a garage before listing to maximize your sales price and minimize the time you will spend on the market.
Hope this helps with your experience on the market!