When you’ve been in the same home for quite some time, selling your Houston house to today’s buyers probably means studying market preferences that differ somewhat from those that were current the last time. If you check up on the Top Ten lists of features buyers value, you find that what people say they will pay a premium for does, indeed, change.

You can trace more specific examples of this phenomenon by downloading Top Ten lists from different eras to see how they differ. Here are two such lists, side-by-side, which make for interesting comparisons.

The first is from a USA Today list of “Features Buyers Will Pay Extra For” produced in 2013…the second (the column on the right) is last year’s Fool.com “Top Features Homebuyers are Looking for.” They’re shown in reverse order, least- to most-popular:  

                   2013                                                        2020

10.   one or more fireplaces                      10.   (fool.com only listed 9)

9.     eat-in kitchen                                         9.   separate laundry room

8.     home less than 5 years old                 8.   lots of windows and light

7.     stainless steel appliances                     7.   a basement

6.     ensuite master bath                               6.   a family room

5.     hardwood floors                                      5.   fenced yard

4.     granite countertops                                4.   eat-in kitchen

3.     walk-in closet in master bedroom       3.   a garage

2.     new kitchen appliances                      2.   hardwood floors

1.     central air conditioner                        1.   air conditioning

If you plan on selling your Houston house this year, this presentation is far from the last word on Houston buyer preferences—but the fact that Number One is the only entry that hasn’t changed is interesting. “Eat-in kitchens” remains on the list, but at a higher preference—as is “hardwood floors.”

Even if you won’t be selling your own Houston house right away, if you are thinking that might be somewhere on the horizon, for more information on our current buyer preferences, please don’t hesitate to give Rinovare Realty, LLC a call at (832) 445-4957 or visit us on the web at: www.rinnovarerealty.com !