I've been reading, visiting websites, and watching online videos this past week trying to understand the changes taking place in our new Ohio housing market. We are seeing a decline in the square footage of new homes in many areas. How is this changing the way builders, Realtors, and home buyers view housing? How is this changing neighborhoods - or is it?
We have just seen a period where square foot was king. People would call and give minimum square foot requirements often BEFORE number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and other features. Frequently they would take a larger home with fewer quality of living features, or a second choice neighborhood simply to get the extra square footage.
In showing homes to buyers on a regular basis we would tour the home and find much of this square footage either not used, or under used. It often sits with little or no furniture, formal dining rooms that are never used, formal living rooms that are never used, and guest bedrooms that the owners admit have been used twice in the ten years they have owned the home. This is space that is still heated, cleaned, and for which they were paying taxes.
I've started to notice a more thoughtful trend in people looking for their next home. They are starting to ask some smart questions.
- What am I actually getting for my money?
- Rather than how much space is there - how flexible is the space?
- How energy efficient is this home?
- How does sound travel throughout the house?
- What type of insulation is there in the walls?
- Are the windows and doors high quality? Double or triple paned?
- Are the kitchen and bath cabinets and counter tops of high quality?
- Are sustainable, environmentally friendly products going to become "typical" in Ohio homes?
What are your thoughts and experiences regarding these issues relating to the average home buyer today? Do you think this trend will continue? Will Ohio
home buyers, traditionally slow to change, make a transition to a smaller higher quality living space?
