Results Are In: Homebuyers See Exercise Rooms as Highly Desirable

An increasing number of homebuyers desire a workout room, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Home Builders. The What Home Buyers Really Want survey found 47% of buyers see an exercise room as essential or desirable. Compared to 2018, this is a 7% increase and a 13% increase from 2015. And while the general share of those interested in exercise rooms is 47%, a higher share of specific age groups are interested. The survey found 61% of Millennials and 62% of Gen X see an exercise room as essential or desirable.

NAHB’s latest survey on consumer preferences – What Home Buyers Really Want – asked recent and prospective buyers about the desirability of an exercise room in the home. Results show that 47% of buyers rate an exercise room essential or desirable. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 likely accelerated the long-term, rising popularity of exercise rooms: 27% of buyers wanted this room in 2003, a full 20 percentage points lower than the 47% in 2020.

While ‘only’ 47% of buyers overall want an exercise room, cross-sectional analysis shows that a majority of buyers in certain demographic groups are interested in this room: Millennials (61%), GenX’ers (62%), and buyers paying half a million dollars or more for their home (67%).

In terms of size, the same study found that 75% of the buyers who want an exercise room are looking for it to be 100 square feet or larger (i.e., at least a 10×10 room).