Homes with Sustainable Features are More Popular than Ever

What are the features that buyers look for when they shop around for their new home? Do they really think that sustainability makes a home more attractive?

Yes. A recent report published by the National Association of Realtors claims that sustainability improves the saleability of a home. In fact, both young and old buyers are looking for homes that score high in the sustainability department.

But which features top the buyer's list of preferences?

The sustainable features that are particularly important to buyers are energy efficiency, eco-friendliness, and commuting costs. Almost 32% buyers consider commuting costs while buying a home and 9% buyers insist that the home should have solar panels installed on it. Heating and cooling costs bother 36% buyers. Over 40% buyers look for energy efficient appliances and lighting. At least 9% buyers insist that the home should have eco-friendly community features.

The survey studied the behavior of buyers and sellers and broke down the trends by the respective generation of each respondent.

The questions were aimed at discovering which generation the majority of buyers belonged to and what size homes were being bought by them. It also tried to assess the popularity of multi-generational homes in today's housing market.

Methodology

The survey consisted of 122 questions. The questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 148,011 people who recently bought homes - that is between July 2012 and June 2013. A total of 8,767 people participated in the survey.

Here are the findings.

Over 60% home buyers belong to Gen X and Gen Y. Younger people account for 16% of the buyers whereas the older generation accounts for 14%. Only around 9% people belonging to the Silent Generation bought homes during this period.

Almost 76% of the first time home buyers belong to Gen Y. As you can imagine, there aren't many first-time buyers among the older generation. Only 2% buyers belonging to the Silent generation (born before 1946) are first time buyers.

Interestingly, buyers of all age groups start their home buying process online. They look up properties for sale. Buyers belonging to Gen Y also search online to find out more about the process of buying a home.

People born during World War II (Silent Generation) hire an agent or a broker to help them find their dream home.

Over 50% of Gen X and Gen Y buyers used their mobile phone or tablet to help them find that perfect home. In fact, 26% Gen Y and 22% Gen X buyers purchased a home they found via their mobile devices.

Younger buyers mostly hired agents recommended by their friends, family or neighbors. Older buyers were far more interested in hiring an agent they had worked with in the past.

Almost 88% buyers got a mortgage to buy their home. While almost all buyers belonging to Gen Y got financing to purchase their home, only around half of Silent Generation buyers got financing.

Seller profile

Almost 29% of recent sellers belong to Gen X. And younger sellers tend to hire the same broker or agent for their home purchase.

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