Bigger Homes With Greater Amenities Attract Buyers

If you’re like most homeowners, you often wonder how much you could get for your house, or whether your improvements will appeal to a prospective buyer. Or if you’re thinking about buying a house, you probably want to know if it will be marketable later.

Spending a couple of weekends going to open houses is the best way to study the local market.

But an annual study from the National Association of Home Builders shows what builders think today’s buyers want.

Houses in the last decade have expanded 18 percent to 2,100 square feet, and they contain more amenities.

Among the features most in demand: A garage that holds two or more cars was provided in 56 percent of new houses in 1984 and 78 percent last year. Central air conditioning was in 71 percent of new homes in 1984 and 79 percent in 1994. Houses with 2 1/2 or more baths went from 28 percent to 49 percent; fireplaces from 59 to 64 percent; full basements from 32 to 39 percent.

Homes with four or more bedrooms went from 18 percent to 30 percent of the new-house market. People are not having larger families, but use the extra bedrooms as offices, guest rooms, exercise rooms or “media rooms,” the association found.

The association said one of the strongest trends over the last 10 years was the building of combination family rooms and kitchens, accompanied by the gradual disappearance of formal living rooms.