New Ally Home Survey: Surprising Reasons Why Americans Have a Favorite Room in their Home

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey from Ally Home, the direct-to- consumer mortgage arm of Ally Bank, reminds us that while everyone loves their families, a little "me time" can go a long way. According to the survey, conducted online by The Harris Poll among more than 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18+, nearly 9 in 10 Americans (88%) have a favorite room in their home, and among them, more than 1 in 10 (13%) cite that room is their favorite because it is where they go to hide from their kids/spouse/partner. Women ages 18-54 who have a favorite room in their home are more likely to say a room is their favorite because they can hide from kids/spouse/partner than those ages 55+ (16% vs. 5%).

"As we head into the fall buying season, this survey highlights just how important certain aspects of a home are to consumers when it comes to finding just the right house," said Glenn Brunker, Mortgage Executive with Ally Home. "In fact, our survey showed nearly half of Americans who have a favorite room in their home (46%) said they'd consider passing on a home if it didn't have that room the way they wanted it. Just like there's no one-size-fits-all mortgage, it's clear a variety of factors—unique to each consumer—that make a house the perfect fit for them. Our goal at Ally is to be that trusted ally and help consumers have as stress-free and successful a journey as possible in the loan process so they can focus on the many other aspects that go into finding that ideal home."

Other survey findings include:

Nothing beats lying in bed and watching Netflix!

• For Millennials (ages 18-34), relaxing in bed is key, with 70% picking the master bedroom as their favorite room in their home

But they're not the only ones who favor the master bedroom…

• Eighty-four percent of Baby Boomers (ages 55-64) and 77% of Gen X (ages 35-54) agree the master bedroom is their favorite

Why? The top reasons Americans across all demographics who chose the master bedroom as their favorite include:

• It's where they go to unwind and de-stress by themselves (74%)
• It's where they can put all their favorite things (35%)
• It's where they can enjoy their hobbies/passions (32%) 

Not so fast! The family room is high on the list, too…

• Thirty-five percent of Baby Boomers, 32% of Gen X and 26% of Millennials say the family room is their favorite room in their home.

Among Americans who say the family room is their favorite room, top reasons include:

• It's where they go to be entertained (53%)
• It's where their family gathers for quality time together (53%)
• It's where they go to unwind and de-stress by themselves (50%)

Calling Chip and Joanna Gaines!
Eighty-six percent of Americans say they would add or make improvements to a room in their current home if they could.

Where would Americans sink their hard-earned cash to make renovations?

• More than a quarter of Americans say they would make additions/improvements to a kitchen or master bath (both 27%)
• Another quarter (25%) say they'd add/improve an outdoor room (e.g., screened porch, 3 seasons room)
• Surprisingly, only 16% chose a woman or man cave as a target for additions/improvements

Survey Methodology: This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Ally Home from July 23-25, 2019 among 2,032 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Justin Nicolette at Ally.

About Ally Financial Inc.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial-services company with assets of $180.4 billion as of June 30, 2019. As a customer-centric company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, we are relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. We are one of the largest full-service automotive-finance operations in the country and offer a wide range of financial services and insurance products to automotive dealerships and consumers. Our award-winning online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage-lending services and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including savings, money-market, and checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Additionally, we offer securities-brokerage and investment-advisory services through Ally Invest. Our robust corporate finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies. 

For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures. 

Contact:

Justin Nicolette at Ally
704.301.4544
[email protected]

Kathy Wilson at Tier One Partners
781-652-0499
[email protected]

SOURCE Ally Financial