Buyers Desire More Food Storage, Tech in Homes

As kitchen tables and living room couches continue to accommodate virtual business meetings as well as meals and relaxation, homebuyers are realizing the importance of having a home that readily adapts to their needs. The pandemic, bringing its unforeseen changes to lifestyles, has also changed what homebuyers desire in their future homes, according to Forbes. In a recent study, more than 30% of respondents expressed wanting larger home offices, flexible walls, and touch-free home entry. See what other home features homebuyers may have their eyes on.

“We had one survey respondent tell us he worked in his wife’s car in the morning so he could make calls and not disturb his wife and daughter while they slept. Then, in late morning he’d begin working from the breakfast table,” says marketing expert Teri Slavik-Tsuyuki of tst ink, who, along with consumer strategist Belinda Sward of Strategic Solutions Alliance, and architect Nancy Keenan, president and CEO of Dahlin Group, conducted the America at Home Study.

Across the U.S. (the world), people are scrambling to figure out how to reconfigure their homes and apartments to accommodate a new norm that includes spaces for sleeping, eating, studying, educating, working, relaxing. (Socializing indoors at least is no longer on the list, for the time being.) What does the way we’re using our homes now mean for the future of home building?

Conducted from April 23 to April 30, the America at Home Study compared responses from 3,001 consumers 25 to 74 years old with household incomes of $50,000-plus; 77% were homeowners, 20% were renters, and 3% live with relatives or friends. At the time the survey was conducted, nearly half (48%) of the respondents or another household member had lost a job or income as a result of COVID-19.

Read More