Real Estate Market Trends
Being an Atlanta home staging company, we love to follow design trends, such as the latest paint colors, popular furnishings, and home styles that sell! We want to stage homes in a way that makes them appealing to a wide variety of prospective buyers, that feels authentic with the home’s architecture and style, and most importantly, a way that will sell a property fast and get the most out of the selling price!
Today, we want to dig a little deeper and look at the trends driving the real estate market. These trends include who is buying homes, budgets, and where the greatest demand is, along with home design trends like size, style, and amenities.
Let’s look a little closer at the buyer demands and design trends that are driving the real estate market.
Home Buyer Demographics
Today’s home buyers tend to be part of Generation X, or born between 1966 and 1980, and older Millennials over the age of 30. While the average age for a first-time buyer is 32, they made up over one-third of all home purchases, and the average age of a repeat buyer is 54.
Let’s look a little deeper; the average homebuyer:
- Has an average income just under $90,000
- Is married (65% of home buyers are married couples, though there is a large increase in single females buying homes at 18%)
- Spends $235,000 on their home
- Is less likely to have children living in the home (only 40% of homebuyers have children, down fr0m 51% in 1981)
What Homes Are in the Highest Demand?
Now that you have a better idea of who is buying a home, let’s look at the homes they are buying. Homes in urban markets and smaller homes are rapidly growing in popularity while open floor plans are maintaining their appeal.
- 50 percent of houses purchased are in urban areas, followed closely by subdivisions and suburban areas.
- Buyers are wanting smaller homes with real estate agents getting more requests for homes between 1,000 and 1,500 square feet. The average home purchased in 2016 had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and just over 1,800 square feet, and the average new home size has also decreased.
- Open floor plans are still highly sought after with roughly 80 percent of new home builds consisting of an open or partially-open floor plan.
What Do Buyers Want in a Home?
Today’s buyer doesn’t want to spend the time or money fixing their home, they’re concerned with efficiency and eco-friendliness and creating inviting, comfortable spaces to relax in or entertain friends and loved ones.
Some of the most common requests from homebuyers, regarding amenities, include:
- Smart features, like programmable thermostats and lighting
- Sustainable elements and eco-friendly design, like low-VOC paint, eco-friendly flooring, and solar power
- Turn-key – ie: a home that is freshly painted, doesn’t need major updates and is in good repair
- Higher quality, long-lasting features, like granite or quartz counters over laminate, and hardwood flooring over carpet or laminate.
- Outdoor space, such as well-maintained porches and patios
Staging Your Home to Fit Current Trends
If you want to sell your home fast, it needs to appeal to today’s buyer. While you don’t need to go knocking down walls to create an open floor plan, consider the following simple updates to stage your home to sell:
- Fresh paint in a neutral tone, preferably an eco-friendly variety
- Clean up your outdoor spaces, and add simple landscaping features
- Show off your natural lighting by removing heavy window coverings
- Remove clutter and overly personalized decoration
- Update your thermostat, lighting, and door locks with smart technology
