Residential Real Estate News
Demand for Larger U.S. Homes Continues to Grow, Says AIA
According to the American Institute of Architects' latest Home Design Trends Survey, Homeowner interest in larger homes, which grew in 2021 for the first time in five years, continued to increase over the last 12 months.
The Home Design Trends Survey for the second quarter of 2022--focusing on home and property design--also found that rental units/accessory dwellings and micro-housing options continue to remain popular, but demand has waned since 2021. Other trends maintaining demand post-pandemic include finished spaces like basements, attics, and garages. Additional design trend highlights:
- Accessibility and overall designs for aging in place continued to remain a focus of a home's layout, growing in popularity.
- Emphasis on outdoors continued to remain popular, with outdoor living spaces, blended indoor/outdoor spaces, and outdoor fire pits topped the list.
"The fervor in demand created by homeowners wishing to have the ability to isolate at home has lessened a bit, however the overall demand has elevated project backlogs to their highest level since the survey began in 2005," said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. "Supply chain issues continue to exacerbate the problem of inflation in the construction industry, which has particularly affected affordable housing options. While residential billings remain healthy, virtually all remodeling and residential construction sectors are seeing slower growth."
Other findings of the report:
- Business conditions in all regions remained healthy in Q1.
- Project billings were 65.4 (any score above 50 indicates growth in firm billings.)
