What Home Buyers Want in a Home Varies by Generation

July 22, 2018

Home-Features-YouGov
In a recent study, Long & Foster and YouGov asked survey respondents which five features they most wanted in a house, and clear generational differences emerged in the answers.

Preference for a garage increased with age, with 72 percent of those born 1928 to 1945 – known as the Silent generation – saying they required a home for their car, too.

Silents and Baby Boomers, born 1946 to 1964, expressed preferences for single-level living, unlike Millennials (born 1981-1997) and Gen Xers (born 1965-1980). Every generation except Silents put a yard in their top five desired home features.

Gen X and Silents said they would look for homes with ample storage. That was important to other generations too, but not in their top five preferences.

Kaitlin Eller, a Long & Foster agent in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a member of the Millennial generation, said she saw her peers willing to sacrifice some features, like curb appeal, to be in a location close to work and amenities.

“Millennials will wait as long as they have to,” Eller said. “They have no issues with holding out until the right house comes along that’s where they want to be.”

You can read more here about how homebuyers’ attitudes have changed since Long & Foster began selling homes in 1968.