The House Plan Baby Boomers Love and Younger Generations Don’t
Why Millennials Don’t Prefer Ranch-Style Houses
Recent studies from the National Association of Home Builders’ “Eye on Housing” have found that the majority of all homeowners in the U.S. prefer single-story house plans. However, when you take a closer look at the data one thing becomes clear: this insight is skewed because older buyers and younger buyers don’t have the same preferences.
Why is there such a drastic difference in tastes between Baby Boomers and younger buyers in the millennial and generation X demographics? How can builders create floor plans that appeal to both of these buyers?
Why Millennials and Generation X’ers don’t like Single-Story, Ranch-Style Homes
Millennials and members of generation X aren’t thrilled about single-story floor plans for a number of reasons. For example, young professionals often want to live close to downtown. They have the desire to walk to stores, restaurants and other nearby amenities. This generally means that their homes need to be built up, and not out, due to space constraints. It’s difficult to build a sprawling ranch-style house on a small plot of urban land.
Des Moines, Iowa in particular is noticing the trend that neighborhoods near downtown are full of younger homeowners. If you’d like to capture more millennial and generation X buyers, you’d be wise to look into developments near downtown and urban centers. Then, design the floor plans to include more than one story.
Younger Buyers have Different Priorities than their Older Counterparts
One of the reasons older buyers are attracted to single-story homes is that navigating one story is much easier as they age, and these buyers prefer to “age in place” without leaving their homes. Younger buyers don’t have this same priority, especially in their first home.
In comparison to older buyers, Faith Brenneisen, an agent with Keller Williams Real Estate, explains that millennials tend to favor certain specific details and amenities. Brenneisen elaborates, saying, “I see preferences for programmable LED lighting, plus high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, geothermal heating and renewable and reclaimed materials.”
Eco-friendly finishes and appliances appeal to these younger buyers more so than single-story floor plans, so choose materials accordingly if you’d like to attract these generations to your builds. Focus on these details in two (or even three) story floor plans, and your business should be well-poised to attract young homebuyers.
Have you noticed similar trends among your home buyers? We’d love to hear your insights in the comment section!
Home Warranty Service Agreements and Structural Warranties can protect builders from unforeseen repairs and replacements, and they can give homeowners peace of mind that when something goes wrong, they’re covered (whether they have one story, or more!) Visit 2-10.com to find out more.
