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How Is the Pandemic Shaping Home Design?

Wednesday, October 28, 2020
by Christie Cannon

How Is the Pandemic Shaping Home Design?

By Michael Kolomatsky with The New York Times

 

A recent survey of architects reveals that clients are looking for ways to improve the time they spend at home.

The coronavirus pandemic is already shaping home design trends, with special-function rooms and products that serve needs particular to the pandemic rising in popularity, according to a recent survey by the American Institute of Architects.

Every year, the institute surveys about 425 individual architects or firms in the business of custom-home building or renovation. Participants are asked to indicate whether requests for certain types of rooms and products are increasing, decreasing or stable. Trends are identified by noting the increases and offsetting them by the decreases. This year’s results were gathered in July.

“I won’t say it was unexpected,” said Kermit Baker, the organization’s chief economist and a senior research fellow at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. “I’d say surprising in the sense that the pandemic response was happening faster than we might have expected.”


 
In this year’s survey, 68 percent of respondents cited increasing client requests for home offices, and none reported a decrease. Compare that with the 2019 results, which showed a 33 percent increase and 4 percent decrease. A related feature, enhanced or “task” lighting, also gained popularity.
 
Specifically, there were more requests for sunrooms or three-season porches (rooms that bring nature indoors) and mud rooms or “drop zones” (areas to isolate contaminated items from the house at large). Tellingly, in the midst of a pandemic caused by an airborne virus, products for improving indoor air quality were newly popular: 41 percent of respondents cited an increase for such requests, while 2 percent indicated they were on the decline, compared with 27 percent increasing and 2 percent decreasing last year.
 

Other new trends included exercise or yoga rooms and flexible spaces for home-schooling or other needs. Other special-function rooms (outdoor living spaces among them) maintained their popularity or edged up, as did products that were low maintenance and energy efficient.

This week’s chart shows which home features were the most popular and how requests for them rose or fell in 2019 and 2020.

 

Source: 2019, 2020 AIA Home Design Trends Survey

By The New York Times

 
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D-FW’s Home Market Ranked Among Least At Risk From COVID-19

Wednesday, April 8, 2020
by Christie Cannon
A new study identifies the most vulnerable home markets to be affected by the pandemic. Most major Texas metro areas are not expected to be affected as much as other areas, especially in the northeast and in Florida.
A new study identifies the most vulnerable home markets to be affected by the pandemic. Most major Texas metro areas are not expected to be affected as much as other areas, especially in the northeast and in Florida.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)

Texas’ biggest markets — including Dallas-Fort Worth — are among the metro areas least likely to see a major housing market shakeout from the pandemic.

Housing markets that will be most negatively affected by the COVID-19 infections and resulting economic recession are mostly in the Northeast and Florida, according to a new report by analysts at Attom Data Solutions.

Researchers looked at almost 500 home markets around the country and rated them based on foreclosures, homeowner equity, wages and other factors.

“It’s too early to tell how much effect the coronavirus fallout will have on different housing markets around the country. But the impact is likely to be significant from region to region and county to county,” Attom Data’s Todd Teta said in the just-released report. “What we’ve done is spotlight areas that appear to be more or less at risk based on several important factors.

“From that analysis, it looks like the Northeast is more at risk than other areas,” he said. “As we head into the spring homebuying season, the next few months will reveal how severe the impact will be.”

Attom Data estimates the major housing markets most at risk from the virus include four in New Jersey and the New York area, three in Connecticut and 10 from Florida. Only one was in California, and none were located in other West Coast states.

“Texas has 10 of the 50 least vulnerable counties from among the 483 included in the report, followed by Wisconsin with seven and Colorado with five,” Attom Data analysts said. “The 10 counties in Texas include three in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area (Dallas, Collin and Tarrant counties).

Harris County in the Houston area and Travis County in the Austin area were also ranked low for coronavirus-related housing shakeouts.

The pandemic and shelter-in-place orders are already affecting North Texas’ housing markets because there are fewer home shoppers in the market at a time of year when home sales typically boom.

And the Dallas-Fort Worth area was one of the few major metros in the country that saw a decline in the median list prices of homes listed for sale in March — they were down 3% from a year ago, according to Realtor.com

Dr. James Gaines, chief economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, said he’s seen forecasts that predict Texas’ home markets will fare better coming out of the pandemic. But he’s wary of making any predictions.

“Obviously, the New York market will be collapsed and the tourist areas,” Gaines said. “Beyond that, we simply flat don’t know.

“The hit of the virus here in Texas so far has been considered light compared to other areas of the country.”

Gaines said it will be several months before sales and pricing numbers show where the Texas home markets land.

 

“I’ve seen some preliminary March numbers that indicate that we have had a slowdown but not a collapse,” he said. “But going forward, it’s going to look really bad year-over-year.

“March, April, May, June and July are usually our hot housing months.”

Texas markets are expected to outperform.
Texas markets are expected to outperform.(Attom Data Solutions.)

Steve Brown, Real Estate Editor. Steve covers commercial and residential real estate in Dallas-Fort Worth.

 

 

Article Provided By: Steve Brown at Dallas Morning News

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Christie Cannon
Keller Williams Realty
5933 Preston Road #300
Frisco TX 75034
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