Housing trends through 2020

By karinzeigler<!--post text with the read more link-->

The market has shifted. With 37 percent of households finding their home online in 2010, realtors are no longer the gatekeepers of information. Instead, they are advisors to home buyers and sellers who want to make sense of the data and navigate wisely. What does the current data forecast about the individuals who will be looking for properties over the next decade?

Patrick Duffy blogs that these households will take center-stage:

• Baby Boomers who are working and living longer
• Tech-savvy Gen Yers
• Immigrants who seek multi-generational housing
• Single-person households (expected to account for 27 percent of the total U.S. population by 2020)

And these features are high on future homeowners’ wish lists:

• Casual living — flexible floorplans that individuals can customize (i.e. the great room concept)
• Balance of indoor and outdoor spaces — providing entertainment scapes both inside and outside
• Green living that leaves a smaller environmental footprint without burdening the budget

Read more on the housing trends that may impact your area at Housing Chronicles.