Most respondents in a survey of Better Homes and Gardens magazine readers said they most value ample storage space (74 percent) and closet space (74 percent) as very important in house hunting, while just 22 percent said they rate "eco-friendly" features as very important.
About 67 percent of respondents said an updated kitchen was very important, while 65 percent said a master bathroom was very important. Ranking far lower, at 27 percent, was "large square footage."
The online survey, conducted in July, featured 17,096 respondents. The results found that 57 percent of homebuyers have recommended a real estate agent to a friend or relative, while 43 percent have not. Eleven percent said they have used multiple real estate agents for a single property, while 89 percent had not.
A separate survey conducted for real estate franchise company Coldwell Banker found that women reach a decision faster than men in the homebuying process.
The real estate company engaged an outside research firm, International Communications Research (ICR), to conduct a telephone survey of 1,000 men and women in May 2009. The survey featured questions about purchasing a house, security and financial decisions.
About 64 percent of women respondents said they would no longer be interested in their dream house if they were worried about its security, compared to about 51 percent of men.
On being asked who makes the financial decisions, 70 percent of respondents living with their significant other said it’s mutual, while 23 percent said that they are individually in charge of financial decisions — not their partner.
Better Homes and Gardens’ survey said men play a greater role in price negotiations and bidding — with 66 percent of respondents claiming men play the greatest role.
About 75 percent of respondents said they would consider working with real estate agents in the future, while 25 percent said they would not.
–Riya V. Anandwala
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