Submitted by Natalie Ransom, REALTOR® and Founding Partner.
One of the expected movements in the single-family home market is the smaller home, filled with upgrades. Buyers will be opting for less square footage as a way to economize on base sales price as well as future maintenance and utility costs. However, to make the homes fit their lifestyles perfectly they’ll be adding special upgrades such as loaded kitchens with all the gadgets, spa-like bathrooms and built-ins. It’s an approach some builders are calling “quality over quantity” as homeowners turn from the status-symbol McMansions of the past decade, and move towards homes which are less expensive to purchase, furnish and maintain.
Opposite changes are expected for the condominium market with buyers looking for homes they will be less likely to outgrow as they move to the next life phase. Young professionals are hoping to move into a condo where they can entertain friends with dinner parties and later settle down and start a family. With the recent experience of a tough market, people are less interested in a condominium which they are likely to outgrow in three to five years.
The trend towards larger condominiums is also supported by empty nesters who, more often than not, don’t want to downsize on space, but on maintenance. They’re looking for a maintenance-free lifestyle and single-level floorplans, preferably within walking distance of shops, entertainment and restaurants.