A profitable South Carolina real estate agent understands the importance of staying updated on current buyer trends. When you’re selling homes, a lot of your time is spent researching and exploring available homes for sale in your area as well data regarding the real estate market throughout the country. You can use information about patterns and trends to your advantage when you’re trying to generate leads and score sales.

Each buyer is likely to have unique needs and goals regarding what they’re looking for in a house, in a location or in other details of the home-purchase process, such as price. At the same time, if you closely monitor the market, you’ll notice that trends develop. For instance, in recent years the kitchen has become “the new family room,” which makes things like a center island with seating a popular home feature.

Buyers want to do laundry on the main floor

Gone are the days when people think nothing of hauling overflowing hampers down a flight of stairs to a dark and dusty basement to do laundry. Nowadays, most buyers say they’re interested in homes that have separate laundry rooms on the main living floor.

If you’re representing a seller whose home has a laundry room, you can help your client increase the chances for getting an offer by recommending that he or she “spruce up” the area. For instance, today’s buyers love to see ironing boards that are built-in to the wall. Stackable appliances are also trending as well as having a long table nearby for folding clothes.

A single porch light no longer suffices

The term “lightscaping” refers to exterior lighting that is used to accent a landscape. An outdoor light arrangement is another popular buyer trend in real estate nowadays. Curb appeal is everything. In fact, most buyers begin their search for a home online, so a few quality photographs taken at night to show a beautiful lightscape can be a good idea.

Ceiling fans are a trending home feature

In the overall scheme of things, installing ceiling fans is a relatively inexpensive way to upgrade a home before listing it on the market. The presence or absence of ceiling fans isn’t going to affect an appraisal, but it will definitely catch a buyer’s eye, which makes it a valuable feature when the goal is to get offers.

Not only are buyers more attracted to homes with ceiling fans indoors, having a fan on a front porch or covered deck is also a popular buyers’ trend. South Carolina’s climate is perfect for year-round outdoor living, and any home feature that enhances the outdoor living space will no doubt be a popular selling point.

Porches have made a comeback

A lot of people are working from home now. They’re also entertaining at home. People want to have space for guests to mingle, indoors and out. Today’s buyers are looking for homes with spacious front porches. In fact, if you talk to home builders in your area, you’ll probably hear that a front porch is a frequently requested exterior amenity in new-home construction.

When you’re a listing agent, your goal is to help your client get the best offer possible in the least amount of time. As a buyer’s agent, you help people find a home that fits their budget, needs and lifestyle. Either way, it’s a good idea to stay updated on popular home feature trends in your area.