Top 10 Features of Upscale Homes

Before choosing your dream house plan, you might want to take a look at some of the features that upscale homebuyers are currently seeking.  In a study released this summer, the NAHB reported what features ranked high on upscale homebuyers wish lists.  Given a choice of over 120 items, people in the market for an upscale house plan ranked what they wanted.

“Because a home is a complex commodity, with many features that can make it more or less desirable to particular customers, the NAHB survey included a long question that asked recent and prospective buyers to rate a list of many (approximately 120) different features on a consistent scale,” says the study. “The features spanned many aspects of the home, including windows, doors, kitchens, baths, specialty rooms, decorative features, accessibility, energy savings, and type of development in which it’s located…The survey asked buyers to rate each feature on the list as ‘essential/must have,’ ‘desirable,’ ‘indifferent,’ or ‘do not want.’”

10. Game Room Whether the room is reserved for games like pool or a place for a family to play table top games a game room is desired by 27 percent of upscale house plan buyers.

9. Home in golf course community Land near a golf course is a niche market.  Nearly two-thirds of all buyers say that they do not want a home in a gold-course community.

8. An Exercise room Just like some house plan buyers will set aside room for games, more want a space in their house plan decided to exercise.

7. Wet Bar What better place could there be for entertaining than a home bar. A wet bar is a place for mixing and serving beverages that includes a sink.

6. An Elevator Seventy percent of all buyers say that they do not want an elevator in their home.  Much like the golf course community, it is an extremely niche market.  The lack of demand for an elevator in a home could be explained by the cost of operation running into five figures and by the preference of a majority of homebuyers for a single-story home.

5. Two-story entry foyer Seems simple to start off the top half of the list, but for families looking into a second story home a two-story foyer is pretty high on the list.

4. An outdoor kitchen One of the biggest trends in new homes is the outdoor kitchen. It can be as simple as an expanded grilling area or a more elaborate affair with a sink, fridge, lighting, cabinetry, and natural stone countertops.  All of these items are made for or conditioned for the outdoors.

3. A wine cooler in the kitchen Just above an outdoor cooking luxury comes something for your indoor kitchen, a wine cooler. Wine coolers can come in almost any size and can be factored into any kitchen house plan.  Remember to keep the size relatively small as to not crowd out other appliances.

2. Two story family room Just like a two story foyer the two-story family room consumes space that needs to be heated or could be used for another purpose.  Due to the increased floor space in a typical family room the space consumed is usually greater.

1. A warming drawer in the kitchen Just like a wine cooler the warming drawer is another specialty item that takes up space that could be allocated for a more general purpose in a small kitchen.  It is one of a few kitchen features that were rated essential or desirable fewer than 30 percent of homebuyers overall.

Five other features that missed the Top 10 by a slim margin were his and hers bathes, a laundry chute, outdoor fireplace, sensor operated faucets, and a media room.  These features tend to be characteristic of upscale homes but an advantage of building your home is that you can get exactly what you want. Browsing the luxury house plan collection from The House Designers is a good start to get you on your way to that dream home, with a warming drawer, two-story family room, or a kitchen with a wine cooler, amongst other amenities.