Duane Duggan's Real Estate Blog

New-Home Design Trends Can up Your Home's Value

Perhaps you’re in the market for a newly built home. Or maybe you’re in the process of having a home built. Or maybe you’re considering a remodeling project to your existing home. No matter what your scenario is, take into consideration the latest home-design trends highlighted by leading architects and builders at the International Builders’ Show held earlier this year in Orlando, Fla.

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), these home-building trends are not just about style but functionality, and can serve to increase the resale value of your home as they reflect consumer preferences in housing moving forward. Check with a real estate expert to see if and how these trends can affect a home’s value in your particular neighborhood:

• Reworked Spaces: New homes are being designed to allow plenty of space for family interaction in high-traffic areas such as the kitchen, and to eliminate rooms such as formal dens and home offices that aren’t frequently used. Small spaces devoted to home management, also known as “pocket offices,” are being included in large pantries or spaces nearby the kitchen or family great room. Window seats and alcoves are being used to provide an area for private time, without taking up a lot of space. A popular and efficient location for laundry facilities is now added onto the master bedroom’s walk-in closet.
• Multigenerational Living: Many families are all living under one roof due to increasing cultural diversity and the state of the economy during the past few years. New single-family home designs reflect this with “shadow” units that are built alongside a home, separate living units that access the main floor plan through a door, or by having at least two master suites; one is usually located on the ground floor to be more accessible for elderly occupants.
• More Impact, Less Cost: Rectangular home designs are more cost effective, so new homes no longer have the formerly-popular feature of multiple roof lines or the resulting unnecessary interior volumes they created. But home designs now include innovative modifications that are still visually stimulating, such as using two windows in a corner with mitered glass to allow unobstructed views and maximum light to come in. Another example is using a mix of materials in the home’s façade such as metal, wood and stone to give the home a modern look.