Top 5 Features Home Buyers Are Looking For

Want your home to stand out in the market that’s begun to cool with potential home buyers this fall? Knowing what buyers want can be helpful in marketing your listing.

Here are the top 5 most popular features recommended to add or update to your home that will give your home an advantage over the competition – and maximize your profit.

#1 ENERGY STAR-Rated Improvements

Not only will these enhancements help the environment, but it will also help home buyers’ utility bills – and most buyers nowadays are tech-savvy enough to pay more for them, from lighting to appliances to windows and more. It’s what buyers want because it’s a smart investment. Unfortunately, windows are not a cheap home improvement, but it’s worth it. Make sure you include this improved feature in your home listing marketing.

#2 Safety First

Buyers are also attracted to any safety features included with your home, so consider installing or including in the home sale a security alarm system, smart technology (smart locks, garage door, smoke detectors), and exterior lighting, which doubles as a safety element and curb appeal. These features aren’t necessarily the cosmetic add-ons you first think of, but anything that improves the safety and security of your home is an automatic value-add.

#3 Storage Central

Storage units seem to be popping up on every corner like banks and pizza shops, but why should homebuyers pay the rent? Give them plenty of storage space that they need by adding an entryway storage space (think coat racks, hooks, cubbies, lockers, cabinets and baskets), installing a set of garage shelves, improving your closet system, and maximizing your kitchen storage through drawer organizers, storage benches, bookcases and more.

#4 Room for Fun

After a lockdown year that kept us in our home more full-time, folks have realized how important it is to make your home surrounding more enjoyable, which can mean adding an array of fun rooms, spaces, such as adding an outdoor kitchen or a relaxing back patio with a fire pit, adding a media or theater room, or converting a space into a fitness room or home gym, a home office, library or game room.

#5 Health Improvements

They may be overlooked by home sellers, but any health-forward add-ons that are comfort-focused are appealing to the modern buyer, such as no-touch facets, a specified mudroom, air filtration system, and more.

Additional Home Features on a Home Buyer’s Wish List:

• Designated Laundry Room
• Ceiling Fans
• Walk-in Pantry
• Front Porch
• Hardwood Floors in the Living Areas
• Full Bath in the Main Living Area
• Open Floor Plan