The American dream home is huge — and pretty high maintenance

America’s dream home

What does the American dream home look like exactly? According to a new study, it’s a four-bedroom, 5,000-square foot house on the water. It also comes with a whopping 10 acres of land.

The American dream

It seems Americans want a pretty hard-to-maintain household. According to a new survey from Porch.com, the ideal home for most Americans is a massive estate with lots of land, serious square footage and a swimming pool.

The American dream home apparently has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, 4,982 square feet and a 10.6-acre footprint. It’s also located on a waterfront (or with a view to a coast, city or hills) and is in a suburban area.

By comparison, Europeans prefer a home that’s much smaller. According to the survey, they want a house that’s three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1,589 square feet and less than an acre of land.

How much the American dream home costs

A look around

On the exterior, ranch- or farmhouse-style homes made of brick rank highest with Americans. They also want a covered front porch, a deck and a swimming pool.

Inside, Americans want wood flooring (except in the bedrooms and kitchen), central air conditioning, a fireplace, a finished basement, skylights and vaulted ceilings. A first- or second-floor laundry room is also high on the list of dream home preferences among Americans.

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The ideal kitchen has granite countertops, tile floors and recessed lighting, while the dream master bedroom comes with carpeting, a walk-in closet, a master bath and a balcony.

“Wood flooring might be ideal throughout the rest of the house, but two in five Americans preferred carpeting in their bedroom,” Porch.com reported. “Europeans were more fond of wood flooring, but bamboo, laminate, and even marble were somewhat popular preferences.”

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