A room of one’s own is now a top priority
Since the pandemic altered what buyers value in their homes, builders are predicting how future homes will change as a result, and what people will want most moving forward.
– As people spend more time at home during the pandemic, buyers are realizing which features of their homes are working, and not working.
– Home builders predict open-concept floor plans will be a thing of the past, as people now value more walls, doors, and overall privacy.
– New construction, which offers the chance to personalize home features, saw its listing page views grow by 73% over last May.
Excerpt via Domino
Quarantine has bred a series of new habits, from crocheting to virtual dinner parties, but it’s also changing the most fundamental things—namely, what we want from our homes. According to Zillow, our desire for privacy is superseding our love for open-concept layouts.
Given that as recently as November 2019 the number of listings calling out this type of floor plan had doubled since 2015, it’s a notable shift—but as anyone who has tried to work through a Zoom call with noisy roommates bustling in the background will tell you, it’s not that surprising.
Adding more square footage to stretch out in is one thing, but some stressed-out homeowners are taking it even further: Zillow notes that 27 percent of those surveyed would consider moving just to have a place with more individual rooms.
Luckily, there are temporary solutions to create more space while you wait for the right time to move or renovate. It’s all about carving out distinct zones: Elizabeth Mahon painted a mini mural to separate her dining room and the nearby living room, and Shannon Wilkins used a long table to section off the kitchen from the rest of her California cabin. Or take a page from LRNCE founder Laurence Leenaert’s studio and hang a tapestry as a divider. They’re not perfect fixes, but as personal space becomes more important than ever, it’s time to adapt.