08 Oct What Do Buyers Want in a New Home?

Buyers agree that in today’s new-home market scale, livability and technology top the chart for 2014 trends. Here’s exactly what’s important to buyers right now, according to BuilderOnline.com.

Not just square footage

Going smaller means reeling in energy costs, and a significant number of architects report demand for smaller homes. Scale and function are the solution here, not sheer square footage.

Private outdoor oasis

All demographics agree that the traditional “public” backyard of yesterday is no longer desired. Everyone from Boomers to Gen Y wants low maintenance, private outdoor spaces. Bringing the outdoors into the home experience is a great way to achieve this and appeal to their indoor/outdoor connectivity as well.

Family hub – not what it used to be

The kitchen is viewed as the “hub” of the house. While providing the main function of a place for food preparation, the kitchen also serves as an entertainment/conversation area. Kitchens are now open to other rooms, visible and exposed. An island offers additional seating capacity along with prep space, and pantries need to be able to store more foods bought in bulk. Most importantly, there must be plenty of device charging stations available!

No hiding office space

Gone are the days of tucking the “home office” upstairs in the unused guest room.  As a “utilized” office space, the front of the home off the entry is not considered an intelligent and practical location. The better location is closer to the “living” area of the house—the kitchen hub and family room.

New culture

Multigenerational living has become part of the “next” culture. Families are staying together longer and the coupling of families becomes economic as well as cultural. Dual purpose housing that accounts for extended families are becoming more popular.

What new home design trends do you see as we finish out 2014? Share by commenting below!