What The Post-Pandemic Homebuyer Really Wants
Amenities, function, and balance between private and public spaces are key in the evolving single family housing market.
A greater desire for amenities, function, and balance between private and public spaces is motivating today’s post-COVID homebuyer, according to a new report from ULI and PwC.
“The desire for more functional spaces grew tremendously during the pandemic-related lockdowns. Builders have not had time to create new designs, but they are modifying current ones,” the report notes, adding that the CEO of a large private homebuilder told the survey that consumers prefer a higher bedroom count, as well as “reading nooks” and “drop zones” where possible. To fit, architects are taking space from typically large areas like the kitchen or dining room and “right-sizing” the home office, the report states.
“Open great rooms are not going away,” the report says. “Instead, they are being paired with more private spaces like prep kitchens, drop zones, retreats, and nooks.”
Outdoor spaces also look different: think small patios, decks, and balconies off the primary living areas instead of one larger yard.
From a development perspective, density is also king. More 62 percent of architectural designers for production builders are working on denser projects in 2022, compared with only 10 percent with lower-density projects, according to the study, and one of the most successful active-adult brands in the United States has reported “overwhelming demand” for its 1200 to 1400 square foot cottage product.
Unsurprisingly, where people live also took center stage in the report, with builders noting many Californians moving to Florida. One large private builder in the South reported that new in-migrants could pay cash for larger homes and more upgrades.
And affordability was a key point as well, with one CEO suggesting that the key to improving affordability is to reduce the cycle time for building homes.
“Just as Henry Ford slashed the time needed to build a Model T from 12 hours to 96 minutes through process improvements, the same innovations and improvements should be focused on housing,” the report notes. “If we could reduce cycle times in half to build a house, builders could offer homes for less, thus improving affordability across the board.”