10 Hottest Home Features According to Homebuyers

By Raymus Homes - 9-10-2014

According to a recent study by the National Association of Home Builders, home features that provide “convenience, livability, and energy efficiency” are becoming more important to homebuyers than location. That’s insane! With the rise of real estate reality shows and the Pinterest frenzy for floor plans and home ideas, homebuyers have more knowledge about home options and want these options available to them. For this blog, we’ll dissect the 10 most desirable features and demonstrate how all of these features are found in our new Grand Prix and Raceway Collections at Oleander Estates.

1. Open Floor Plans

Gone are the days of walling off every room! Homebuyers want wide open spaces that invite instead of exclude people from rooms. These open spaces – often combining the kitchen, living, and dining – are perfect for entertaining and make throwing parties a breeze!

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2. Large Kitchens with Granite Countertops

The kitchen is one room you never want to feel cramped in. Between family meals and entertaining, large kitchens with plenty of space to prep and serve are a must. Granite, with its classy texture and easy maintenance, also ranks high in the “Gotta Have It” category for homebuyers. Luckily, we’ve got you covered! All of our homes feature granite countertops and a six inch granite backsplash standard, kitchen islands (per residence), and loads of counter space.

Kitchen in our Daytona plan

3. Modern Kitchens and Bathrooms

Homebuyers shouldn’t buy a brand new home only to remodel right away. That’s the last thing we want! By putting Delta® pull-down faucets in all our kitchens, adorning bathrooms in cultured marble, and making sure the master bath is decked out with a glass shower enclosure, shower seat (per residence), luxurious soaking tub (per residence), and dual vanity sinks – we make it so you won’t ever need to remodel.

Master bathroom in our Darlington plan

4. High Ceilings

How low do we go? How about nine feet minimum throughout all our homes? While we won’t be winning a game of limbo anytime soon, we know you’ll be impressed with the open, lofty look and feel.

Master bedroom with coffered ceiling in our Jefferson plan built in Oakdale

5. Room to Work from Home

Many buyers need more than just a pocket office in their home. We’ve specifically designed our floor plans with sizable, modern home offices. These spaces offer abundant natural light and will make working from home comfortable and easy.

Our Daytona plan offer room for a Home Office with a large window for abundant natural light

6. A Real Laundry Room

Our laundry rooms help you get this chore done as quickly as possible! With space to fold and sort and the ability to add a sink or upper cabinets, who knows – the laundry room might become your new favorite room.

Make your laundry room extra efficient by adding upper cabinet and a deep sink

7. Outdoor Living Spaces

In California, we’re blessed with fantastic weather. Your home should take advantage of its location! Our homes feature covered porches and patios standard or as options, providing opportunities for year-round outdoor living.

The Catalunya plan features a large covered patio standard.

8. Walk-in Closets

Every master bedroom should have a walk-in closet. But, we can do better than that – two of our plans include two walk-ins in the master! Additionally, we try our best to make sure the secondary and guest bedrooms also get a little walk-in closet action. Another cool thing about our closets – they all include custom, built-in closet organizers.

Every bedroom has a walk-in closet in our Daytona plan

9. Energy Efficiency

Homebuyers want a home that doesn’t waste money, keeps them comfortable, and is good to the environment. All of our features – low-E windows, Energy Star® appliances, radiant barrier roofing, a tight duct system, fully insulated walls, low VOC paint, ect. – deliver a healthy, comfortable quality of life that is easy on your pocket book. We’ve even teamed up with ARAM SOLAR to offer solar as an option for those looking to further lower their energy bills.

ARAM SOLAR installation on a residential home

10. Two Car Garage Minimum

Done. Actually, we went the extra mile: oversized, fully dry-walled two car garages with a side entry door are our minimum. But, the best part – every single one of our floor plans has the option for a three car garage!