What Do People Want In a Home? Here’s What Our Home Match Quiz Says

When searching for your dream home, what do you look for? What does the kitchen look like, or the front yard? Is a garage a must, or do you have stronger feelings about a walk-in closet? And how do those preferences reflect where you’re from, or where you want to live? 

At Orchard, we’ve talked to thousands of people looking for a new home. All the details, big and small, matter to home buyers. We noticed those details change depending on where people are and where they want to go. 

Using insights from our Home Match quiz, we’ve compiled some fascinating statistics about what people are looking for in a home. How similar are you to people in your city? Or are you one of the 1% of people in Austin who don’t think having garage space is important? 

Let’s take a look at what people in Orchard’s markets want in their next home. See the must-haves, the nice-to-haves, and then take the Home Match quiz to see what’s available. 

What do home buyers in Atlanta want? 

Home buyers in Atlanta, GA told us through Home Match that they wish the Falcons hadn’t blown a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl. Just kidding—they told us this instead:  

• 98% of Atlanta quiz takers are specifically looking for (and must have) a garage in their home. 
• Almost 70% of Atlanta quiz takers need to have central air in their home.
• 30% of Atlanta quiz takers need a double vanity sink in their primary bathroom.
• Only 15% of Atlanta quiz takers say they don’t think having a walk in closet is important.
• 18% of Atlanta quiz takers must have high ceilings.
• Only 14% of Atlanta quiz takers don’t find it important to have a kitchen island in their home.
• 39% of Atlanta quiz takers think it would be nice to live on a wooded lot.

What do home buyers in Austin want? 

Home buyers in Austin are looking for a house that lets them cut to the front of the Franklin Barbecue line. Well, no, they didn’t say that, but they did say this:

• 20% of Austin quiz takers need a covered patio in their next home.
• Only 10% of Austin quiz takers are looking to host pool parties this summer and made a pool a must have in their next home. 
• Almost half of our Austin quiz takers require a fence in their next home.
• 85% of Austin quiz takers would prefer their next home to be recently built.
• Having garage space is VERY important to 99% of our Austin quiz takers.
• Only 2% of our Austin quiz takers don’t need to live in a multistory home.

What do home buyers in Charlotte want?

Do home buyers in Charlotte want to be within walking distance—okay, how about a short drive?—from the NASCAR Hall of Fame? Maybe. They also want this:

• Central air is a must for 59% of Charlotte quiz takers.
• 76% of Charlotte quiz takers want to be your friendly neighbors, and don't require a fence surrounding their next home.
• Only 31% of Charlotte quiz takers don’t think it’s important to have a fireplace in their next home.

What do home buyers in Dallas-Fort Worth want?

Dallas-Fort Worth residents don’t just want their kids to get drafted by the Cowboys. They want the following:

• Dallas home buyers value a fenced in yard more than the buyers in any of Orchard’s markets. Almost 60% of our Dallas quiz takers labeled this as a must have. 
• Only 12% of Dallas quiz takers must have a pool.
• Only 10% of Dallas homebuyers say that it’s necessary they live in a newly built house. 

What do home buyers in Denver want?

Denver home buyers didn’t say anything about wanting to build a brewery in their basements, but then again, that’s not part of the Home Match quiz (yet). Here’s what they said: 

• More than half of our Denver quiz takers (51%) need to have a fence in their next home
• Only 6% of Denver quiz takers don’t find it important to have central AC in their home
• A mountain view is a must have to 15% of Denver quiz takers
• Only 1.5% of quiz takers are specifically looking for homes on the corner lot
•  Only 18% of our Denver quiz takers say that a landscaped yard is a must have. (could be due to drought?) 
• 74% of Denver quiz takers say that granite countertops is not a requirement

What do home buyers in Houston want? 

Everybody in Houston agrees there's no need to hear another “We have a problem” joke in their lives. Here’s what else they’re looking for: 

• Almost 40% of Houston quiz takers need to have a fence in their next home.
• 98% of Houston quiz takers need to have a multistory house in their home.
• Only 8% of Houston quiz takers must have a pool in their home.
• Having wood floors would be a nice-to-have for 55% of Houston quiz takers.

What do home buyers in Raleigh-Durham want? 

We have to imagine that something like 100% of Raleigh-Durham home buyers are looking for the nearest Cheerwine fountain. Other than that? 

• 96% of Raleigh-Durham quiz takers require their next home to be multiple stories.
• It gets hot in North Carolina, which is why 91% of RDU quiz takers need to have central air in their next home.
• 72% of RDU quiz takers would love to have enough space in their kitchen for an island. 
• 8% of RDU quiz takers must have mature trees on the property of their next home.

What do home buyers in San Antonio want? 

Most home buyers in San Antonio, it’s safe to say, don’t want their home to be in nearby Austin. What else do they want? 

• Only 8% of San Antonio quiz takers say that a large primary bedroom is not important in their next home.
• 15% of people don’t want an open floor plan for their next home.
• Only 13% of san antonio quiz takers need a fireplace in their next home
• High ceilings are a must for 20% of San Antonio quiz takers 
• Only 35% of San Antonio home buyers say that they must have a kitchen island
• Only 37% of San Antonio quiz takers say they need attached parking
• Only 11% of San Antonio quiz takers say that a walk in closet is not important

What do home buyers in the Washington, D.C.-area want? 

Folks in the D.C.-area (sometimes called DMV, for D.C.-Maryland-Virginia) are probably tired of everyone assuming they work in the government or IT. They just want a house with the following: 

• Garage spaces are a must for 99% of  quiz takers.
• 55% of DMV quiz takers would prefer to live on a wooded lot.
• Only 7% of DMV quiz takers don’t think it’s important to have central air.

Curious to see homes with the features that matter the most to you? Take the Home Match quiz, even if you’re just browsing for fun.