What Specialty Rooms Are on Homebuyers' Wishlists?

They’re making a list and checking it twice. Beyond the bed, bath, and kitchen, millennial homebuyers want rooms that fit their lifestyle, from wine cellars to exercise rooms. But their must-have specialty room falls more on the practical side than an exciting addition. Maybe it’s because they are sick of hauling laundry across town after renting for so long, but for millennials, laundry rooms are a top priority.

A laundry room is the most popular specialty room (anything other than a bedroom, bathroom or kitchen) among Millennial home buyers, with 86 percent of them reporting that it is a desirable (36 percent) or essential/must have (50 percent) room (Figure 1).

This data comes from a recent NAHB report, What Home Buyers Really Want (2019 Edition), which is based on a survey asking recent and prospective home buyers about the features they want in a home and a community. Home buyers are asked to rank over 175 features (including specialty rooms) on a four-tiered scale of do not want, indifferent, desirable, and essential/must have.

It is important to note that a laundry room is not only the most popular specialty room among all home buyers, but the most popular feature out of the 175 features listed in the report. Figure 1 lists out the top ten specialty rooms wanted by Millennials (sum of the desirable and essential/must have shares; hover mouse over bars for total shares).

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