R.I.P. OPEN FLOOR PLAN | What's hot and what's not in real estate!

After years of opening up floor plans on both rehabs and new construction, all of a sudden BANG! Along comes the perfect storm of Covid-19, home schooling, home offices, zoom meetings, and millennial purchasers, and it’s goodbye open space and hello cubby-holes! The open floor plan is not as popular with millennials.

“Nielsen Media Research has defined millennials as adults between the ages of 22 and 38 years old in 2019. CNN reports that studies often use 1981–1996 to define millennials, but sometimes 1980–2000.” –Wikipedia

These newer purchasers of homes, like any others, fall into two catagories dealing with demands our changing lifestyle present them. They can adapt, as in our articles about bedroom get-aways, basement finishes, and home offices here and here. Please check them out when you get a chance.

Or, since some don’t want to buy a home that is a project, they may be buying a house that is new to them, and looking for certain things rather than adapting old spaces to new purposes, as in this piece from Cinch Home Services noting that the open floor plan is not as popular with millennials.

Key Takeaways:

✓ Millennials want flexible spaces so their home can
adapt to their lifestyle.

✓ Outdoor space is essential, even if it’s small.

✓ Millennials want at least one home office.

✓ Most millennials prefer to avoid renovations.

Millennials, who have consistently expressed aspiration for homeownership, are entering
the housing market in greater numbers now that the oldest segment of the generation
has reached their 30s. Surveys show that millennials, like other buyers, share some specific
desires for a home and also face the reality of needing to compromise. Real estate agents
can advise these younger buyers when previewing homes with them and helping them focus
their priorities.

Surveys have found that millennials prefer:

1. Avoiding renovations. Many millennials are first-time buyers who are understandably
wary of buying a home that requires work. According to the National Association of
Realtors’ 2020 Generational Trends Report, millennials express a preference for new
construction to avoid plumbing and electrical problems. A home warranty can provide
reassurance to buyers that they can easily find affordable help if a problem arises in the
home they buy.

Priorities among millennial homebuyers include flexible space for multiple uses, a home office, outdoor space and a home in good condition to avoid renovations.2. Flexible floor plans. Bonus rooms, finished basements and rooms that can function as a home office or homework space appeal to millennials, especially in 2020. Agents can help buyers visualize various uses for different spaces in homes they’re visiting, such as the potential for a walk-in closet to become a “Zoom room.”

3. Private outdoor space. Even if a big yard isn’t in their budget, millennials typically want at
least a patio or small enclosed space for a fire pit or a place to relax outside their home.
Even better would be an outdoor space that easily connects to the interior through glass
doors or an enclosed porch. Agents can encourage sellers to stage outdoor spaces or help
their buyers see the possibilities for exterior land.

4. Private indoor space. While open floor plans remain popular, 15% of millennials polled
by Homes.com said they wanted a closed floor plan. Families stuck at home for most of
2020 desire private places for work and relaxation and gathering areas for the family.
This emphasis on finding some closed rooms could be helpful to sellers of older homes.

5. A convenient and quality neighborhood. According to NAR’s report, convenience to work
and a neighborhood’s quality were the top priorities for millennial buyers’ location choices.
Additional preferences include affordability, school district and convenience to friends and
family.

6. A single-family home in the suburbs. More than 80% of millennial buyers prefer a singlefamily home, according to NAR’s report. More than 50% of millennials want to buy in the
suburbs.

So as For-Sale-By-Owners, we need to be aware of buyer trends so as to not be trying to sell yesterday’s newspapers on today’s street corners. (How is that for an outdated metaphore?) P.S. As for me, I still love a beautiful loft environment like our photo, but then, my job is to keep you sellers advised of the current trends.

What are you seeing in the buying prospects coming to look at your house, if it’s for sale right now?

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Photo by Aaron Huber on Unsplash

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