Boomers and Xers affect new home market
Aging Baby Boomers and some Gen Xers are showing an interest in single story, ranch-style home designs. This has led some builders to suspect the style may be making a comeback.
In a 2005 study conducted by Vista Market Intelligence, 89 percent of Boomers indicated they would prefer a master bedroom on the main floor of their new home, and 79 percent said they would rather own a single story home. Maybe more importantly, 77 percent of Boomer-age new home shoppers would rather live in Clark County, versus 57 percent in Multnomah. That is, if they can get the type of home they’re looking for.
Battle Ground-based Sun Country Homes Sales and Marketing Director Lacy Kalliainen said she talks to more and more Boomers seeking these types of homes.
"Their first choice is a ranch (-style home)," Kalliainen said. "If they don’t find a ranch, then they’ll settle for a master (bedroom) on the main (floor)."
That’s fine, but what of the younger market? The study also indicated that Generation Xers, or homebuyers born during the Nixon and Ford Administrations, are beginning to favor single story floor plans as a way to promote more open family environments.
The interest in such home designs is not easily addressed in the industry. First of all, ranch-style homes take up more space, and a typical lot size, at around 3,400 square feet in the case of Sun Country, does not allow for most single level designs. Also, these homes cost more per square foot to build, due to larger foundation requirements and material needs. As a result, home builders do not offer a wide variety of single story plans. Sun Country, for example, offers one ranch-style layout in its product line of six designs. Generally, lot size is an engineering problem. Land contour and proximity to green belts will dictate how large the lots can be.
"We allow ranch styles if the lots accommodate it," said Killiainen. She also said Sun Country plans to offer 7,000-square-foot lots in LaCenter to address the demand in the market. Nonetheless, Killiainen said area builders offer pretty much the same selection.
Or do they?
New Tradition Homes recently added a single story layout to its line, upping the number of ranch-style home layouts offered by the Vancouver builder to three. The builder offers 10,000-square-foot home lots at its newest development, Windsor Downs, near I-205 and N.E. 107th Street in Vancouver. Buyers here can shop for single story plans of 1,758 square feet and 2,156 square feet, and also some with the sought-after "master on the main" configuration. There are 28 lots available at the site.
"We’re in a good position to address this trend, because we offer the bigger lot sizes," said Moriah Diederich, New Tradition’s marketing director.
New Tradition Director of Product Development David Commeree said the builder made the decision just over a year ago to go with the larger lots.
"We were set up to go with the typical 4,000 to 5,000 square feet," he said, "but we decided in the end to offer the bigger lots after doing some research on the market."
Commeree said he sees the new interest as a trend, because he’s seeing the Boomers starting to think about not wanting to go up and down stairs. He also said these new home designs are relatively cost-efficient if planned in the early stages of construction, and that they accommodate aging home buyers facing decreased mobility, as the homes offer wider hallways and doors and more spacious interiors.
"We’re trying to be a little more cutting edge and thoughtful on the market," he said.
Nonetheless, he acknowledged he’s sort of acting on a hunch regarding the possible trend.
"It has yet to be proven," he said, "but we’re going ahead with it, based on our research."
The company’s Web site indicates a sensitivity to this rising market demand, as it extols the benefits of "one level living."
This catch phrase is not unique to New Tradition Homes, and indicates that New Tradition is not at all alone in its hunch. A quick Google search of the marketing expression "one level living," turned up 240 million results, with examples of home builders nationwide hopping on board. Perhaps there is a new tradition after all.
