There’s no denying it: COVID changed everything, but that didn’t keep buyers from actively shopping for a home over the last year. Despite health restrictions and economic difficulties imposed by the pandemic, home buyers pushed to find a property to call their own. What did change were the features that men and women considered top-of-the-list for their ideal home.
In the Zolo: Home Buyers Survey 2021, we asked 1,369 home shoppers about their needs and wants in a home and how these desires have shifted in a post-pandemic world. The results were surprising — and highlighted the differences men and women have when prioritizing their dream home features.
What Features Do Home Buyers Want Most?
In 2021, the features homebuyers wanted most did not include an updated kitchen or an open-concept floor plan — listing highlights often included in home sale descriptions.
That doesn’t mean an updated kitchen isn’t desirable — 66% of home shoppers considered this a vital feature; it’s just that other needs took priority. Not surprisingly, the features that helped address the need for social distancing during gatherings, as imposed by COVID-19 protocols, topped the must-have home buying want list.
For instance, the top four features home buyers want in 2021 are:
- Main floor bathroom (71%)
- Garage (70%)
- Master bedroom with en suite (68%)
- Private outdoor space (68%)
It appears that a main floor bathroom and a garage help homeowners to enter and exit their home while maintaining safe health protocols (such as creating an isolated or decontamination area).
The desire for a master bedroom en suite and access to private outdoor space highlights the greater level of importance our homes now play as part of our work, entertainment, and home life. A master ensuite provides privacy to the primary homeowner, while private outdoor space offers a controlled environment where people can gather safely.
It’s not that these features didn’t rank high in prior years, but greater privacy and access to safe outdoor space appear more important, given pandemic restrictions.
The responses from these home shoppers represent a shift towards more dedicated living spaces, both inside and outside of the home, along with money-saving upgrades that can improve livability and lower the cost of living, at the same time.
Differences: The Features Men and Women Home Buyers Want in a Home
Trends show that more people made the decision to live with a significant other in 2020, compared to 2019.
Given lockdown restrictions, choosing to live together is one of the easiest ways to guarantee that the one you love is in your COVID-19 “safe bubble.”
Men and women appear to agree on some of the most desirable home features but preferences start to differ once these short-listed items are met.
For instance, when shopping for a home that already includes a garage, a main floor bathroom, and a master bedroom with en suite, women then focus on whether or not a home has:
- Updated HVAC (73%)
- Patio or deck (65%)
- Updated kitchen (64%)
- Walk-in closets (60%)
Men, on the other hand, have a different set of priorities with a focus on:
- Private outdoor space (71%)
- Updated kitchen (67%)
- Energy saving appliances (60%)
- Hardwood floors (57%)
What Home Buyers Don’t Care About
Sellers, think twice about what you want to emphasize in your home for sale listing. While in-law or income-suite potential is often included in the selling description almost half (42%) of home buyers consider this feature “not important” (down from 54% in 2019).
In 2021, the least desired features, where respondents rated the feature as “not important,” the top six were:
- Pool – 64%
- Mudroom – 62%
- In-law suite – 42%
- A view (mountain, city, lake, water, etc.) – 32%
- Accessible living features – 30%
- Open-floor concept – 23%
This list of least desirable home features didn’t actually change much between pre-and post-pandemic conditions. In 2019, potential home buyers also listed a few “not important” features including a pool (61%), an in-law suite (54%), a mudroom (44%), and a home with a view (35%).
Experience of Recent Homeowners
The biggest test as to whether or not our stated priorities meet our actual needs came in March 2020. Virtually overnight, our homes stopped being just places to shelter for rest and relaxation, but also became our home office, a school, sometimes a daycare, and, quite often, the primary (or only) entertainment zone.
As a result, recent homeowners were asked whether or not the home they bought pre-pandemic was suitable for post-pandemic conditions. Turns out just over a third (34%) had difficulties with their new home. The biggest issues:
- 31% – Not enough space to create designated work / play zones
- 25% – No privacy for home office / school work
- 19% – No place to isolate / stay socially distant
- 12% – Too many communal contact points (such as elevators or stairwells)
This shows that the homebuyer shift towards a greater focus on saving money through updated appliances and windows, along with the desire for dedicated living spaces — both inside and out — will be a priority for the foreseeable future.
What Is the Most Popular Home Configuration?
Despite differences between what men and women want in a home, and the shift in priorities from pre-and post-pandemic needs, the overall “ideal” home remains the same: Homebuyers want a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home with a garage.
Two years ago, in the Zolo: Home Buyers Survey 2019, more than third (40%) of the 1,854 respondents said they preferred a 3-bedroom home, while more than half (57%) wanted two bathrooms in the home.
Now, more than ever, home buyers don’t want to take on the expensive, time-consuming home renovations and upgrades that tend to disrupt lives and put a big dent in the pocketbook. As a seller, adding a garage or carving out space to create a master bedroom en suite will go a long way to making your home more attractive to potential buyers.
Sellers need to consider where to spend their money when it comes time to update and remodel the property before listing it for sale. According to survey results 50% of potential buyers “don’t mind painting and completing small updates.” This is down from 59% of buyers who didn’t mind taking on these small upgrade jobs two years ago.
However, when faced with a choice between a move-in ready home and a property that requires major updates, most would prefer the turn-key option (23%, down from 24% in 2019) to the more expensive renovation-required type of property (1%, down from 16% in 2019).
Survey Results
The findings of the Zolo: Homebuyers Survey 2021 are based on an online survey conducted between January 19 and 22, 2021 where 1,369 respondents who live in North America were asked to answer a repeat set of questions that were asked of more than 1,800 home buyers in 2019. The estimated margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points, 18 times out of 20.
