New and Improved Home Building for the Post-Pandemic Buyer

Home builders have grown accustomed to a series of pandemic-related hurdles slowing the pace of new home construction throughout the past two years, but as interest rates rise and more buyers are priced out of the housing market, a changing consumer base could also warrant a change in production. A profitable floor plan geared toward pre-pandemic homebuyers won’t satisfy new preferences and demands brought on by a transformative pandemic.

Instead, builders should accommodate work from home spaces and create practical areas like parcel delivery vestibules, all while prioritizing cost effectiveness for more budget-conscious buyers in a pricer market, according to Housing Design Matters.

In this tumultuous building climate, many builders are reverting to their “best sellers” – telling me that every time they introduce a new plan, the prices come in higher – even if they “value engineered” it. With everything in construction on the rise, the last thing builders want to pay for is a new plan. This might be the path of least resistance, but it is not a sustainable long-term strategy. A “paid-for” plan from five years ago isn’t going to fare well against brand new plans or even newer resales.

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