What Homes Will Be In 2012
Hello,
If you have not yet read my first and second Blog postings(this is number 3 if you are counting) let me quickly re-cap. In blog 1 I gave a passionate plea to consider the many new possibilities in building a Hybrid Ranch (aka 2-story ranch). Remember, ALL ranches are 2-story if you have a basement. In blog number 2 I went on to explain a new way to have a walk-out basement(sort of) , in a flat lot building situation. These two subjects are just two elements which I believe dovetail with this 3rd installment , and all three of these connect to my recent visit to the International Home Building Show in Las Vegas, a dozen days ago.
This Show, is the biggest show I can imagine , and half the reason to go to the show is to attend the long list of seminars. No matter the home subject, sales, green building, construction supervision, financing, or(my favorite) home design. It always seems I have some new home idea or concept that is keen on my mind and in this case, and for the last several months, I have been really captivated by the notion of creating a whole new generation of homes.
Honestly, I am getting downright sick of visiting new homes and seeing the latest home trend plan books and not seeing anything that is truly “different”. I am sure that some guy at some time got tired of always washing towels to dry his hands with and then decided there must be a better way. He invented the paper towel. Now that we all use paper towels, they are nothing special. When the first television or automobile was invented, they were probably such radical ideas, that it must have excited the pants off those riding on horses or listening to radios for entertainment. I am sure that when the next really big break in home design comes along, it won’t take long until it will revolutionize the industry and everyone will look at that design and wonder why we didn’t think of it before.
I am convinced that the basic concept of designing mostly squared rooms, made out of lumber and drywall using pointy peaked roof, and putting cabinets on the floor with wall cabinets on the…well…wall, and putting first floor laundry rooms, ceramic tile floors, hardwood, carpet, fireplaces, bathrroms, ALL of this will some day cahnge, just as sure as when the first out- houses were brought indoors and folks must have thought how brilliant that idea was. ALL of what we know today as a house could change. ALL of this SHOULD change. And when it does, folks will ALL look at each other and say, gee , why didn’t we think of that before?
A few years ago, I drove by a home in Kenosha that looked a lot like one of my own design. I knew it was not but it looked so familiar. Every father knows his own child so I got out of the truck and went inside this new home which was about midway through construction. This 1600 square foot ranch had balck and white copies astrewn all about the home. These photos were of MY model home. Similar things like this have happened before, and even though Wisconsin has one of the toughest (best for builder) copyright laws in the book which could get me potentially tens of thousands of dollars for such an incident, I just didn’t want to going through the mental anguish again.
The emotions of that moment caused me to decide to begin all over again and start designing even newer, even more unique, even more cutting edge designs that, if I have my way , will never be mistaken as anything but an original Miracle design.
I have heard it said that there are only so many ways to design a certain sized or type of home. I strongly disagree. If you check out my Kinsey Bay design, you will se the home I designed immediatly after this incident. If you could see what I have been working on in the last 6 weeks(a 1500 sqare foot Hybrid Ranch) I think you would see something totally new, bourn out of my circumstances at the time. Now let me connect the dots from the International Home Show to today’s design subject of homes from 2012 and beyond.
I heard upwards of 7 famous home designers ,speaking at the show, all addressing the same subject of what the new generation Y (also called New Millenials) will want in a new home. Here is the bullet- point synophsis I took in my notes at the seminars.
1. We need homes that will address the social happening that generations of all ages are now beginning to live together longer. It is not unusual to see retired folks living with their kids or a grandmother taking primary care of the grandchildren, or a son or daughter living in the parent’s home until they are married or even after they are married. New designs need to better addressing private spaces and be flexible to allow co-living.
2. There is a distinct price shift taking place. The age of the McMansion is over and price is more important than size. In fact, home sizes are shrinking and developers had better realize they need to lower their restrictions of size for new developments.
3. Everyone wants ”green” built homes but very few are willing to pay mcuh to get it. Green is good, extreme green is not. A new buyer will pay only about $35 more a month on their mortgage to get Green features.
4. The new generation Y considers the outdoor fireplace or fire pit to be the new essential and things like a whirlpool tub or three car garage, dining room, study, and formal living room are not. Many surveyed said if they could only have one fireplace, they would choose to put it outside and sacrifice the inside fireplace.
5 Generation Y will want more uniqueness, less opulence . More contemporary than ever before. They are the age of Ikea(I hope I spelled that right) shopping and designs need to be bolder.
6. Generation Y is not desiring large families and many will opt for no children.
7. Technology will be huge and homes need to allow for all the new tech toys.
8. Outdoor social areas will be as important as the interior rooms. New furnishings and cabinets, are coming to make outdoor feel like indoors.
9. They are not about owning new “things”. They will not need all the bells and whistles in the homes but whatever is in the home must be nice and workable/functional.
10. Lot size is far less important than the location of the lot (proximity), it should be near shopping, entertainment, or near work.
11. More Generation Y people will work out of their homes. Even so, the need for an office(unless folks will visit the home for business) is low. They would rather work at their couches in the living room with a laptop.
12. The maximum time they wish to travel to their workplace from home is 27 minutes.
13. They will want multi-function spaces.
14. Female will continue to have the buying power. This is the fastest growing segment in the U.S. We will see lone females buying homes.
15. 55 years old(plus) is a whole new world. Older people are looking/feeling/living younger. 50 is the new 40.
16. People will work longer, pensions are gone, big becomes less important for them.
17. Big traditional families are becoming the minority. They are still the most important segment because they are the segment that needs and wants to move.
18. They prefer single detached homes rather than condo living.
19. 1500 sqare feet is heading into being the new norm for size.
20.They want a social hub, open floor plans, high ceilings, combined living and dining, and (again) outdoor spaces are going to be HUGE(popular not big)
21.The new buyer has and wants LOTS of clothes.
22. Generation Y is extremely brand concious. Sampo is not as favored as Sony for example. Quality is king.
23. Structured wiring is the norm.
24. New Millinials want products that represent their change oriented culture. They are less concerned about the illusion of wealth.
So, what does all of this look like. Stay tuned to see my current designs(or give me a call ).
Unless you think this is not real, these buyers will become the next , most massive home buying segment to ever hit America. A few stats show that 82% of these Generation Y folks think it is important to buy a home. 50% say they will buy in the next 3 years. Once this group enters the marketplace in 2012, they will dominate the market through 2051. 86% list price as the most important thing in making a home purchase decision. 14% think size is important.Home sizes will run 1428 to 1728 square feet in size. 70% of these buyers want designs that meet their needs, not luxuries.
In my next blog, I will talk about a few new items that I am including in our next generation of homes that is pretty off-the-wall. Please let me know your thoughts and let me know you are out there.
As I said, I may not post every day, but at least several times a week. I hope you will check back.
Blessings,
Tom
