- In honor of Father's Day, the Orlando Regional Realtor Association took a look at what dads want in a home.
- The top features include garages, man caves, built-in barbeques and home breweries.
- Bruce Elliott, the president-elect of the association, says dads oftentimes put the wishes of their wives and families before their own. Realtors should make it a point to help dads vocalize what they want so they're happy with their new home as well.
Oftentimes, “happy wife, happy life,” is the attitude dads take to making decisions, especially when it comes to the homebuying, renovating and decorating process. But in honor of Father’s Day, the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA) looked at what dads want in their dream homes.
Bruce Elliott, president-elect of ORRA and Realtor at Regal Real Estate Professionals, says he and other agents see that garages are at the top of most fathers’ must-have lists.
“The dads really focus on the potential of a garage,” Elliott says. “They’ll often carefully evaluate the space to determine its ability to store a specific length of boat, upright tool chests or, of course, that mountain of kids’ sports stuff.”
Rural backyard or urban city dwelling?
In addition to a spacious garage, dads look for quality flooring, tech-ready “man caves” and built-in barbecue areas in the backyard.
For younger dads who live in urban areas, Elliott has noticed an uptick in requests for home breweries as the craft-beer hobby scene continues to explode. In addition to breweries, younger and older dads are looking for snack kitchens in their man caves, cigar lounges and quiet napping rooms.
‘Happy family, happy life’
Elliott says that although dads’ main focus is keeping their wives and families happy, it’s important that they’re vocal about their wishes as well. And, for dads who are hesitant about speaking up, Elliott suggests Realtors make it a point to keep men involved in the homebuying process.
“In my experience, most dads truly do want whatever makes their wives and families happy, at a bargain! That being said, it’s important for Realtors to make a special effort to draw dads into the conversation,” he says.
“Knowing what both spouses desire makes locating appropriate possibilities and selecting just right home go so much smoother.”
