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Pet-friendly homes a priority according to Zillow and Rover report

By Wesley Coburn

OCEANSIDE, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 18: Laila Oguz exercises in her backyard with her virtual Fitness Trainer Dennis Guerrero on November 18th, 2020 in Oceanside, New York. In March of 2014, Dennis Guerrero and his business partner opened a gym on Long Island. The pair shared a passion for fitness, a dream of creating a local community of like-minded people and a willingness to take a risk. Over the next six years, hundreds of members experienced and embraced a unique environment that fostered a palpable energy, helping athletes of all ages and abilities reach their potential. The gym became a place to share achievements, work through losses and overcome illness. But like so many other businesses, it seemingly had no way of overcoming the financial impact and ongoing uncertainty of a global pandemic. With the arrival of Covid-19, the gym shut its doors back in March, with no idea when it would reopen. The owners, though, were far from done. They lent out every piece of equipment they owned to the gym’s members, continued to pay their staff and worked to set up outdoor classes in hopes of keeping their membership active and healthy. As the shutdown stretched on, it became clear that the physical gym was closed for good. They have since reinvented themselves and are now called Life Outside the Box. Their business model has changed drastically, and all their workouts have gone virtual. The workouts are conducted by a small group of fitness trainers led by Guerrero. The members pay a monthly fee and can take live Zoom fitness classes. They are coached by the virtual trainers in real time. More and more people have reconstructed their garages, spare rooms, backyards, and basements into home gyms since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
OCEANSIDE, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 18: Laila Oguz exercises in her backyard with her virtual Fitness Trainer Dennis Guerrero on November 18th, 2020 in Oceanside, New York. In March of 2014, Dennis Guerrero and his business partner opened a gym on Long Island. The pair shared a passion for fitness, a dream of creating a local community of like-minded people and a willingness to take a risk. Over the next six years, hundreds of members experienced and embraced a unique environment that fostered a palpable energy, helping athletes of all ages and abilities reach their potential. The gym became a place to share achievements, work through losses and overcome illness. But like so many other businesses, it seemingly had no way of overcoming the financial impact and ongoing uncertainty of a global pandemic. With the arrival of Covid-19, the gym shut its doors back in March, with no idea when it would reopen. The owners, though, were far from done. They lent out every piece of equipment they owned to the gym’s members, continued to pay their staff and worked to set up outdoor classes in hopes of keeping their membership active and healthy. As the shutdown stretched on, it became clear that the physical gym was closed for good. They have since reinvented themselves and are now called Life Outside the Box. Their business model has changed drastically, and all their workouts have gone virtual. The workouts are conducted by a small group of fitness trainers led by Guerrero. The members pay a monthly fee and can take live Zoom fitness classes. They are coached by the virtual trainers in real time. More and more people have reconstructed their garages, spare rooms, backyards, and basements into home gyms since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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Pet-friendly homes have become a priority over the past year, according to a new report from Zillow and Rover.

A whopping 86 percent of dog owners list pet-friendly homes’ living features as a key factor in a potential move, while 62 percent of dog owners would consider moving for their dogs’ sake.

What would some of those features include?

Well, while having a private outdoor space is important (so say 86 percent of survey respondents), having a fenced-in yard is the most important factor for 84 percent of those respondents.

Pet-friendly homes are becoming more important for dog owners.

Other important features to consider include having a doggie door already installed, and nearness to a dog park.

But going back to the backyard – listings sold about five days faster if they mentioned a fenced-in backyard, which makes sense for more than just pets – the human kids need somewhere to kick a soccer ball or play on the swing set, even if that might be in the future, since a lot of pet pawrents learn the basics of parenting with dogs or cats before children come along.

Houses also sold about four days quicker when their listing mentioned a dog run was included, and if a doghouse was mentioned, they usually sold for about 3 percent more than their listed price – after all, Snoopy needed somewhere to store his art collection, right?

And while all these extra canine creature comforts will add up on the final purchase price, for most survey respondents that wasn’t a problem – about 40 percent said they would be willing to spend an extra $5,000 for pet-friendly homes, while 10 percent would be willing to go up to $50,000 more, and an additional 12 percent said money was no object if it made their dogs’ lives better.

While that’s great and all for those who can afford to buy a house, the reality is – most people today can’t afford to do that, so they rent instead.

But even among renters surveyed, they would also be willing to spend a little extra for their pups, as 29 percent would be willing to pay an extra $50 per month if their dwelling had dog-friendly elements, with an additional 30 percent willing to pay $100 per month. At the other end of the spectrum, 7 percent of renters would be willing to spend up to $1,000 per month for their dog, while 10 percent said money was no object.

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Would you consider pet-friendly homes for your next move?

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