• August 8, 2007

The real estate market may be flat, and consumers may be veering away from traditional SUVs, but a study by the National Association of Realtors suggests home buyers still yearn for big garages, with two or more spaces.

The 2007 Profile of Buyers' Home Feature Preferences, surveying people who bought houses last year, is the first since 2004. Among buyers who purchased homes without big garages, 56% said they would have paid more for an oversize garage, compared to only 6% percent in the 2004 survey.

Other priorities include air conditioning, with three out of every four respondents ranking this as "very important," and a walk-in closet in the master bedroom, which was very important to 53% of respondents. Cable/satellite TV-ready houses gained 6 percentage points, to 46%, versus the last time the study was done.

The study, which asked home buyers about 75 features and room types, said over half of home buyers see their homes as having high investment potential, and another four out of 10 believe their homes have moderate investment potential. Only 3% felt their home's investment potential was low.

--Karl Greenberg