Two features matter more to potential home buyers than air conditioning
With Dallas residents suffering through a late summer heat wave of 100 degree days, you don’t need a researcher to tell you that air conditioning is a must-have.
Even so, a new study by the folks at Zillow tells us that more than three-quarters of U.S. buyers say they had to have AC in their new digs — one of the highest-rated features.
“Affordability, a preferred number of bedrooms and air conditioning top the list of important home characteristics for most shoppers,” Zillow’s Buyer Wants and Needs list says.
Seventy-six percent of buyers said they have to have air conditioning.
The other 24% weren’t from Texas, where we rate AC higher than indoor toilets or a roof.
“In the South — known for being hot and sticky in the summer — almost twice the share of buyers value AC (87.6%) over being near family and friends (44%),” Zillow says.
Off-street parking and multiple bathrooms were also on the list of preferred features.
At the other end of the preference list, hot tubs were one of the things home buyers were least likely to crave.
Again, Texas and summer — who wants to sit in hot water?
*Article by Steve Brown, Real Estate Editor for the Dallas Morning News