Changes in Home Buying Habits
(Atlanta, GA) Sociologists and trend spotters are forecasting changes in home buying habits of many Americans, especially couples in the child rearing years that aren’t connected to the recession.
Some are calling it “suburban flight”. Young couples, many that are first time buyers, are not even considering a home outside the city proper. That dream with its white picket fence that has in the past dozen years grown to “McMansion” size has been replaced. Today many are looking for a bungalow or townhouse in an inner city, planned, mixed-use urban development. They seek a home where you can walk to the grocery, the cleaners, or a really good little child friendly neighborhood café.
And ”Walk” is the operative word here. With the average commute time reaching 50 minutes (one way), young parents and some not so young, have come to believe that it’s “Just not worth it.” As one couple put it, “For us, family time is the best time. We want to enjoy it to the max. And we can’t do that crawling along the interstate” (Auto manufacturers take note. The decline in auto sales may have reasons other than the economic downturn and high gas prices.)
Another trend is what has been called the “Cocoonning” of America. People are staying at home. Working from home and just hanging out there with family and friends. Some architects and designers have already taken note and have designed houses with secure work at home spaces (computer rooms), and media rooms where you can watch an event on a big flat screen, listen to concert hall quality music, or have a party and dance. And kitchens of a size where everybody can pitch in. Why go out? It’s all-right at home; made possible by extraordinary advances in technology that is now available at a price many can afford.
For the homebuilder these changes in the public mood are opportunities. A chance to get ahead of the curve seizes the moment and get back on top of things. People are going to always need a place to live. You might as well give then what they want.