What Do Wealthy Buyers Want?

Wealthy home buyers rank open floor plans, smart technologies, and pools as top amenities in their home purchases. Coldwell Banker Previews International and the Luxury Institute recently surveyed home buyers who make more than $250,000 a year to find out what amenities they desire most in homes.

Here are their top-ranked amenities, according to the survey:

• An open floor plan was cited by 39 percent as the No. 1 preferred amenity
• Fully automated/wired home system, which could encompass high-speed cable and integrated music systems, computerized lighting, and home monitoring systems
• Pool
• Outdoor kitchen
• Gym
• Home theater

On the other hand, wealthy home buyers ranked the following amenities as “less important”: wine cellar, guest house, safe room, separate catering kitchen, tennis court, and staff quarters (which came in last on the list). The average home purchase for this wealthy segment of buyers was estimated at $1.6 million.

Source: Coldwell Banker and “Top amenities for wealthy homeowners: Tech, open plans,” CNBC (Sept. 27, 2013)