Housing Thaw?
In a bit of good news for residential designers and builders, the years long trend of declining house sizes may be bottoming. As recently as last year, 60% of respondents to the annual American Institute of Architects (AIA) "Home Design Trends Survey" reported declining home sizes, according to AIA chief economist Kermit Baker. This year, the number fell to 52%.
According to Baker, the upper end of the market seems more stable, ahead of entry-level homes. "Except for those aimed at first time buyers, homes at all the major price points (are leveling off in size) compared with a year ago."
What Buyers Want
Even though home sizes aren't shrinking as much as in past years, very few designers and builders - only 5% in the survey - say they're getting bigger. This implies that smaller homes are probably with us in the foreseeable future.
In a sign that the market has adapted to smaller homes, clients now prefer their floor plans to have rooms and features that satisfy their wants as much as possible in less space. Some once popular features have become rare, while more practical choices have been growing in popularity.
The AIA survey found that special purpose areas such as craft, media, exercise rooms, pet kennels and wine cellars are disappearing. Homeowners continue to demand home offices and outdoor living spaces throughout the country. Baker notes that the outdoor space trend has stayed strong since it first hit the market 10 years ago. He believes the reason is because buyers see outdoor space as a place to entertain guests in a smaller home, even if they can only do so in the summer. Other features with broad appeal include accessibility and flexible, multi-use spaces.
Accessibility in and around the home is a continued interest. People want to age in their current home, so accessibility is a growing concern. In fact, 58% of residential architect respondents in the survey stated that in-home accessibility was in demand among their clients.
Buyers have become more focused on making their homes more workable. As their family dynamic changes, they can stay in their home longer.
Housing Thaw? Retrieved February 25, 2013 from http://pro.moen.com/news-and-insights/trade-tips/cms/article?id=143 |