Whether you are marketing your home to first-time home buyers, young families or empty nesters, all of them are looking for some of the same characteristics in a home—along with a few special preferences that meet their specific needs. Of course, home buyers are individuals, too, so the feature in your home that most appeals to one buyer—such as an extensive backyard with space for gardening—could have zero appeal for another buyer.

Researchers spend a lot of time profiling buyers to find out how to market existing homes and how to design new homes to appeal to a broad market. As a seller, there are some things you may not be able to
change easily about your home—but the more you know about what attracts buyers, the more you can emphasize those features in your marketing materials and by staging your home.

Buyer Preferences
The National Association of REALTORS®’s 2013 Home Features Survey gathered information from purchasers to find out what they bought and what features mattered most to them. According to the survey, the majority of buyers want more closet and storage space. If you can emphasize this
space in your home by emptying some of your closets, you are more likely to attract top dollar for your property In addition, 65% of buyers said a home with central air conditioning was very important. In fact, this is the most important of 31 features listed by the NAR.

NAR’s study showed that buyers were willing to pay the most extra money for a home with a basement, as well as an in-law
suite, but, as always, upgraded kitchens were a priority, too. While granite countertops are definitely a popular choice,
only 20% of buyers said that particular type of surface was very important. Stainless steel appliances were considered very important by 17% of buyers. More important than those