What Home Buyers Want

According to Mark Nash, real estate broker, syndicated columnist and author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home

What's In

• Home buyers. Buyers rule and they know it. With swelling inventories in the housing market, they are looking for newly updated kitchens and baths, pristine condition and a perception of value.


• Destination bathrooms. The master bath has evolved into the home getaway with multiple task areas: freestanding bathtubs, multiple flat screen TVs and wireless Internet. If the bathroom is outfitted for serving bars, wine coolers, espresso machines, all the better.


• Short Sales. Home owners who are overextended financially are increasingly looking to their mortgage holders to accept less than is owed on their property. Some mortgagees will will accept less than is owed through a short sale instead of foreclosing.


• Pet showers. Dedicated dog showers are an emerging trend. Common dog showers feature a 3'x3' shower base, surrounded by ceramic tile. Pet showers are all about convenience: Fido can step in, eliminating the master's need to lift.


• Home elevators. the boomers want their vertical palaces with elegant mini-elevators.


• Outdoor living spaces that look interior. Massive, soaring "statement" fireplaces of cut stone, heated (think bathroom floors) flooring and walkways, entertaining-sized custom kitchens and indoor-looking artwork, fabric, and finishes that can stand up to the elements.


• Down payments. Sexy home mortgages are out. Those who underwrite home loans are looking for substance from potential home buyers. Substance equates into disciplined savings and credit scores.


• A home's carbon footprint. Manufactured homes, reused construction materials and energy-friendly mechanical systems and appliances all reduce the need for fossil fuels. Home buys are asking about how their potential new home can save the planet.


• Monitoring and controlling with hand-held devices. The latest technology lets hand-held devices open or close the blinds, turn lights on or off, or let Fido out the electronic pet door.


• Floating homes. From Louisiana to Vancouver, floating homes are at the top of the must-have lists for those looking for a lifestyle-oriented primary home.


• Concealed appliances. Buyers bypass matching cabinet panels that are used to disguise the ubiquitous refrigerator and dishwasher. Hinged and pocket doors are the latest way to integrate visually those boxy necessities and make the kitchen more non-traditional and less functional-looking.


• Non-smoking homeowner associations. Who knew that some homeowner associations are rewriting by-laws and declarations to include...smoke-free common areas and building-code-required ventilation systems.


• Off-grid homes. Solar panels, windmills and inverters are here to stay in a big way. Even being partially off-grid beats getting expensive power from coal-fired utilities to these Eco-energy users.

What's out

• Unrealistic home sellers. These relics of another time and market missed the cocktail party chat. Cautions included pricing their homes right, considering home-sale contingencies, and offering cosing-cost givebacks. If sellers were flexible with buyer's needs, buyers bought.


• Living rooms. The great room has replaced the living room in American residential culture. Informal lifestyles with combined eating, cooking and living spaces let family members and visiting friend congregate for various activities makes much more sense to buyers than the forced museum.


• Double-digit home-value appreciation. For now, the home as get-rich-quick investment is over. We're back to the pre-boom norm of housing as shelter.


• "Order-taking" real estate agents. The hive during the boom years was real estate, and multitudes of the dot-com-busted became the worker-bees of real estate sales. Everyone and anyone got licensed and into the frenzy. Little did they know that seasoned (pre-boom), full-time, professional agents had ready, willing, and able buyers and knew how to sooth seller's anxieties.


• McMansions. Size doesn't matter if it's not well-finished. Home buyers are looking for quality.


• Obese ceiling heights. Buyers prefer ceilings between 9'-11'. If you can't add a loft in a soaring room, "downsize me" height-wise, buyers say.


• Pioneering locations. Buyers are returning to the tried-and-true address, keeping resale desirability firmly in mind when making a purchase.


• Balconies as a marketing gimmick. Real balconies have room for a grill and a comfortable table and chairs. People love the outdoors and want to use it.


• Option ARMS (adjustable rate mortgage). Originally used for short-term financing, they were re-packaged for buyers who wanted to qualify for the highest loan amount.


• Pre-construction pricing on new construction. Builders who are plunging ahead with new projects will be better of with one pricing model from beginning to end. they are eliminating their "everything is an upgrade" mentality.