Page 17 - BB_Jan_2020

A ‘great room (kitchen/family room/
living room combined)’ is considered
desirable or an essential/must have by
66 percent of Millennials. This specialty
room is slightly higher on the list than
a ‘separate family room’ (62 percent)
and a ‘separate family room’ (61
percent), indicating that slightly more
Millennials prefer an open concept for
this area of a home. Rounding out the
top ten are a mudroom, wanted by 59
percent of Millennials; and a sunroom
and a breakfast nook, wanted by 58
percent of Millennials each.
Figure 2 shows the specialty rooms
that have the largest percentage
point preference difference between
Millennials and older generations. A
significant share of Millennials – 57
percent – want an exercise room, but
the desire for one wanes with age,
as 50 percent of Gen X’ers express an
interest for one, 32 percent of Boomers, 38 PERCENT
and 17 percent of Seniors.
OF MILLENIALS
A media room and a game room
are also wanted by substantial shares SURVEYED
of Millennials (57 and 52 percent, INDICATED A
respectively), however the shares fall DINING ROOM IS A
to only 20 and 14 percent of Seniors,
respectively. Half of Millennials want “MUST HAVE,” WITH
a two-story entry foyer, compared AN ADDITIONAL 39
to a third of Gen X’ers, 20 percent PERCENT SAYING
of Boomers, and only 17 percent of
Seniors. Although less than half, a IT IS A DESIREABLE
sizable share of Millennials want a wine FEATURE WHEN
cellar (43 percent), but essentially no BUYING A NEW
Seniors express a strong preference for HOME.
it (7 percent).
For additional information, an
August 2019 NAHB study showed the
history of Millennials’ preferences for
select housing characteristics. The
greatest level of detail—including
preferences for hundreds of items
broken down by generation, by
geography, first-time vs. repeat buyer,
household composition, race, income,
and price expected to pay for the
home—is available in the 2019 edition
of What Home Buyers Really Want. BB

17 JANUARY 2020 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION