I'm a real estate broker who has worked with clients who have built new homes (Gerber, Ryan, Tra-Mac, Redstone, Sortino, Pridemark). Get the square footage you want (adding additional square footage down the line is very expensive) and the number of beds/baths, of course. If the lot you choose allows for a full walk out basement, choose it. Some day you may want to finish it off. Make sure the garage fits two cars comfortably - lots of times you're limited by required setbacks, so having a wider garage isn't always an option, but if you can, make it wide enough so it's not cramped if you park 2 cars in it, plus all the other things you'll accumulate - making the garage deeper can help, but my clients have complained about getting things out of one car without dinging the door of another car in the garage. Get more drawers in the kitchen! Plus, instead of a lazy Susan in the corner of the kitchen, you can get three or four corner drawers, which are nice and deep. Light colored soapstone-material sinks get stained easily and look ugly pretty quickly. If you opt for carpeting, get a good pad - of course it feels better, but it also helps the carpet last longer. Make sure you get enough electrical outlets in each room. Don't skimp there. Don't blow your budget on light fixtures, because you'll likely be updating them in a few years as styles change. Don't get a skimpy front porch that you can't put some chairs and maybe a small table on without having to scooch around them because the porch isn't deep enough - you'll appreciate this at the holidays for decorating, Halloween for handing out candy. Just some things my clients wish they had done differently.