Photo by Daniel McCullough on Unsplash
by Jim Perry, William Lyon Homes,
President, Building Industry Association (BIA) Baldy View Chapter
Take a walk through the state-of-the-art models in any new home community here in the Baldy View region and you will experience how today’s homes are built to address today’s – and tomorrow’s - buyer’s needs, concerns and preferences.
These designs continue to be state-of-the-art thanks to events like the January National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2020 International Builders’ Show (IBS) which - combined with the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show for the annual Design & Construction Week - drew a total of approximately 90,000 home building professionals.
This year, NAHB once again identified the top design trends and features for a new generation of homebuyers. In 2020 more first-time and entry-level buyers and smaller families will find a far greater selection from which to choose - while all of today’s buyers will continue to select the best investment most of them will make in their lifetimes from the most sophisticated, convenient and energy-efficient homes ever built.
In an era in which televisions are mounted on walls like paintings and telephone do double duty as portable hand-held computers, many of today’s homebuyers require far less space than previous generations and they express a desire for more compact and efficient home designs. Today, home builders are meeting those consumer demands by offering more designs to meet the needs of entry-level buyers and smaller families while continuing to offer buyers desiring larger designs. By reducing the square footage and number of rooms for entry-level homebuyers, the average size of today’s new home is 2,520 square feet – only 20 square feet above the average nearly a decade ago.
Today’s home buyers will find walk-in master bedroom closets, low-emissivity (low-e) windows and laundry rooms as the most likely features in typical new homes. Energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly features such as efficient lighting, programmable thermostats and Energy Star appliances will also be likely, as will open design concepts such as great rooms and nine-plus-foot ceilings on the first floor. In addition, many builders will also offer energy-efficient features such as cork flooring in main-level living areas, geothermal heat pumps and solar water heating and cooling. Other popular amenities that will be featured in modern designs include hardwood flooring, walk-in pantries, patios, ceiling fans and kitchen double sinks.
These changes are coming about because today’s homebuilders invest a great deal of time, resources and effort to produce the types of homes that consumers want and NAHB examines preferences among first-time buyers and repeat buyers to help builders determine what features are most likely to resonate in the market in 2020.
One of the most important reasons for home building professionals to stay abreast of homebuyers’ preferences and needs is due to the fact that upwards of a decade could elapse from initial designs to the opening of a state-of-the-art new homes community. Over that span of time, home builders will consult with and be advised by agencies of every level of government and the plans will pass through myriad development and design approval phases before the first hammer strikes a nail. Not only do these studies help homebuilders build the products that the consumers desire, it helps keep these various government agencies and lawmakers apprised of the changes in homes required by an ever-evolving consumer base over time.
NAHB is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 140,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 700 state and local home builders’ associations such as the Building Industry Association (BIA) Baldy View Chapter around the country. Thanks to efforts like the IBS, homebuyers will always be able to find the right home to suit their needs.
The BIA Baldy View Chapter seeks to advance the opportunity to attain the American Dream of home ownership. For additional information on homebuying, home improvements or the benefits of homeownership, go to www.biabuild.com on the web.
And have a terrific Valentine’s Day.
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