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As Wichita gets ready for its annual home show next week, national experts are saying that Americans want smaller houses and are willing to strip some of yesterday's most popular rooms — such as home theaters — from them in order to accommodate changing lifestyles.
"This is a traumatic time in this country, and the future isn't something we're 100 percent sure about now either. What's left? The answer for most home buyers is authenticity," said Heather McCune, director of marketing for Bassenian Lagoni Architects in Park Ridge, Ill.
Buyers today want cost-effective architecture, plans that focus on spaces and not rooms, and homes that are designed green from the outset, McCune said at the International Builders Show earlier this month in Las Vegas. The key for home builders is "finding the balance between what buyers want and the price point."
For many buyers, their next house will be smaller than their current one, said Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio, Texas. Large kitchens that are open to the main family living area, old-fashioned bathrooms with clawfoot tubs, and small spaces such as wine grottos are design features that resonate today, she said.
"What we're hearing is 'harvest' as a home theme — the feeling of Thanksgiving. It's all about family togetherness — casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces," Lavender said.
Paul Cardis, CEO of AVID Ratings Co., which conducts an annual survey of home-buyer preferences, said there are 10 "must" features in new homes:
* Large kitchens, with an island. "If you're going to spend design dollars, spend them where people want them — spend them in the kitchen," McCune said. Granite countertops are a must for move-up buyers and buyers of custom homes, but for others "they are on the bubble," Cardis said.
At the Wichita Home Show, which starts Thursday at Century II, "there will be many kitchen companies as well as appliances," said Sandy Call of the Wichita Area Builders Association. The association sponsors the show. "There will even be products for the gourmet cook."
* Energy-efficient appliances, high-efficiency insulation and high window efficiency. Among the "green" features touted in homes, these are the ones buyers value most, he said. While large windows had been a big draw, energy concerns are giving customers pause on those, he said. The use of recycled or synthetic materials is only borderline desirable.
Appliances at the Wichita Home Show will include commercial-type ranges, built-in refrigerators, and dishwashers and laundry equipment that are so quiet as to be almost silent, Call said.
* Home office/study. People would much rather have this space than, say, a formal dining room. "People are feeling like they can dine out again, and so the dining room has become tradable," Cardis said. And the home theater may also be headed for the scrap heap, a casualty of the "shift from boom to correction," Cardis said.
* Main-floor master suite. This is a must feature for empty-nesters and certain other buyers, and appears to be getting more popular in general, he said. That could help explain why demand for upstairs laundries is declining after several years of popularity.
"According to several remodelers and bath supply companies I visited with, this is one of the most popular remodeling jobs," Call of the Wichita Area Builders Association said of master suites. "It can be accomplished by redesigning the floorplan of the home, or in some cases the home owner actually adds on another room for this purpose."
* Outdoor living room. The popularity of outdoor spaces continues to grow, Cardis said. And the idea of an outdoor room is even more popular than an outdoor cooking area, meaning people are willing to spend more time outside. Hot tubs will be among the outdoor living features at the Wichita Home Show.
* Ceiling fans.
* Master suite soaker tubs. Whirlpools are still desirable for many home buyers, Cardis said, but "they clearly went down a notch" in the latest survey. Oversize showers with seating areas are also moving up in popularity.
* Stone and brick exteriors. Stucco and vinyl don't make the cut.
* Community landscaping, with walking paths and playgrounds. Forget about golf courses, swimming pools and clubhouses. Buyers in large planned developments prefer hiking among lush greenery.
* Two-car garages. A given at all levels; three-car garages, in which the third bay is more often than not used for additional storage and not automobiles, is desirable in the move-up and custom categories, Cardis said.
