Last month, Better Homes and Gardens released their survey results about what their readers are looking for when they come to buy a new home. The survey was among U.S. consumers, but the results do a give idea of how attitudes are changing due to the recession, and due to changing market conditions overall.
Image: Loozrboy / Flickr
The major trend that bodes a lot for the future of the housing market is the fact that consumers are continuing to want smaller homes. Thirty-six percent in 2009 said they wanted a smaller home the next time they bought one, compared to 32% in 2008. This is partially being driven by the increasing number of seniors in the population, but is also likely due to households trying to reduce their overall debt burden.
However, some of this, as always, is due to some people feeling they need to cut back, but they aren’t necessarily thinking through the practical consequences. Even while a third of respondents said they would be buying a smaller house, two-thirds of respondents said they would be looking for an outdoor grilling and living area in their next home, an eating nook in their kitchen, and an additional bedroom with its own ensuite. A third of respondents even wanted a three-car garage. It’s difficult to imagine all of this fitting inside a “downsized” home.
Perhaps this is because homeowners envision their new homes as utilizing “no-space-wasted” design, with lots of cupboards and drawers. Two-thirds of respondents said these attributes were important. So while the respondents want more, they expect what they will get will be more efficient.
This extends to respondents’ preferences for environmentally conscious design. Nearly nine-in-ten respondents plan to have energy efficient heating and/or cooling in their new homes and around the same amount want to have energy efficient appliances. Although this is admirable, the high number of positive responses suggests that the projected cost savings are what is really driving respondents’ behaviour.
And the allure of green-thinking may make some of respondents requests somewhat impractical: almost one-third want to use geothermal heat – even though it may not necessarily be available.
What does this mean for you? Well, it’s good a reminder to be practical about what you want and what you actually need for your next home. Although you can achieve some energy and space savings by increasing the efficiency of your home, will it really be enough for you to be able to afford that additional bedroom with ensuite? When planning your next home purchase, try to plan it out as carefully as possible before you make any decisions about what type of house you want.
Next week, I’ll continue our discussion of this fascinating survey.
Heleen Jacobsen
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.infomarketgroup.com
