WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Home buyers in increasingnumbers want garages with two or more spaces in their homes, according to the2007 Profile of Buyers' Home Feature Preferences, released today by theNational Association of Realtors(R).

Since the last survey in 2004, oversize garages saw the biggest growth interms of what recent buyers considered very important in a home, gaining 16percentage points to 57 percent. Among buyers who purchased homes without thisfeature, 56 percent of them said they would have paid more for an oversizegarage, compared to only 6 percent in the 2004 survey.

Other priorities for today's home buyers include air conditioning, withthree out of every four respondents ranking this as "very important," and awalk-in closet in the master bedroom, which was very important to 53 percentof respondents. Hardwood floors and granite countertops each gained 7percentage points from the 2004 survey, with 28 percent and 23 percent,respectively, of buyers viewing these features as "very important." Gaining 6percentage points was cable/satellite TV-ready, at 46 percent.

The survey reports responses from buyers who purchased homes in 2006. Homebuyers were asked about 75 features and room types to assess the importance ofeach.

"Realtors(R) see hundreds, if not thousands, of houses with their buyerclients every year and know exactly what buyers are looking for in a home,"said NAR President Pat V. Combs , of Grand Rapids , Mich., and vice president ofColdwell Banker-AJS-Schmidt. "This insight is one more way Realtors(R) addvalue to the real estate transaction and why nearly eight out of 10 recentbuyers used a real estate professional when buying their home."