For the Culture: Housing's Crossroads in 2020

A recent John Burns Real Estate Consulting webinar titled "Cultural Crossover 2020" identified and analyzed four current cultural shifts that home builders and developers should be mindful of in their designs.

Hosted by vice president of innovations for strategy firm Sphere Trending Susan Yashinsky, four trends were called out: Mega-Pairings, the need for today's homes to balance seemingly polar buyer desires like informal and formal, and function and flexibility; The Currency of Intangibles, speaking to buyers' growing need for experiential fulfillment and satisfaction both in the home by connecting with others and disconnecting from tech, and in a vibrant community; Chameleon Lifestyle, the need for a home to adapt to a variety of household types and residents who wear many masks in their daily lives; and finally New Cultural Renaissance, "We live in a globally connected and diversified world, where consumers quickly become inspired by trends from all over the world," John Burns Real Estate Consulting reports.

Health is increasingly important to young consumers. Thrive Home Builders is a production builder who has created relatively affordable net zero production homes within a traditional masterplan environment. They also created a whole series called Vita that has a health focus for the family. Trends travel faster now due to the internet, so it is more important than ever to stay on top of the latest and greatest trends. Those builders and developers who make decisions because “it worked last time,” may not be optimizing their profits.

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