Upsizing is the “New Norm” For Growing Families in NJ
Downsizing may have been the trend in 2016, however, according to consumer research, things are changing. Today, this research shows that upsizing is the new norm for growing families. One of the people who have chosen to upsize is Maggie Shaw from Hoboken, NJ.
For over 5 years, Maggie and her husband have been living in a flat in Hoboken, NJ. The home was only 700 square feet and they were very cramped. Because the home was so small, they didn’t have the room for all of the dressers that they needed so they had to cram their clothing into a storage space under the bed. The home was so small, they had to limit the number of guests that they could invite over for a dinner party. When her parents came to visit they had to stay in a hotel because there just wasn’t room in the tiny Hoboken flat for overnight guests.
In the end, it was the backyard that made them decide to upsize their home. Husband and wife are both avid sports fans. They had always enjoyed BBQ’ing outside and entertaining friends and family. Since both Maggie and her husband enjoy the outdoors, this was no longer a practical situation.
According to Maggie, they worked hard to maximize the space to make sure that everything had a purpose, however, it didn’t always work out well. Finally, the situation became too much for the couple and Maggie’s husband suggested the idea of moving to a much larger house outside of the city. It didn’t take much for him to convince his wife that this was the best thing for both of them. They ended up falling in love with a 2,700 square foot single family home located about 15 miles south of Hoboken. Best of all, they would be able to entertain outside in their own backyard!
The Shaws’ story has become quite normal these days. Rather than starting with a starter home, people are buying larger homes with larger price tags. According to Zillow, Millennials are especially interested in this movement. According to the data from a new census, the average square footage of new homes is up 20 percent since 2000. This means that the average home was 2,000 and is now 2,500 square feet.
According to Brian Miller, an associate professor of sociology at Wheaton College located outside Chicago, the data goes along with things that he has been seeing firsthand. He studies suburban migration, cities, and culture, and he believes that there are several factors that have shifted the housing trends. One of these factors is the strength of the economy.
According to Miller, he sees a lot of tiny houses and micro apartments in major cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, and New York. These are cities who are struggling with housing issues, and owners are trying to fast-track 200 to 400 square foot apartments. The information that he has says that across the country, the people that live in these tiny quarters want to live in larger houses. He says that over the last few years, the economy has improved, especially in cities like Dallas, which is one of the hottest housing markets in the US. He says that the economy has made it possible for people to buy large houses again.
Another reason that the housing trends have changed is the influence of popular culture. On television, in both reality shows and scripted shows, you see people living in large homes. The typical home on television is huge. The hit comedy Friends is an example of an impossibly large apartment in New York. If you watch shows on HGTV, you will see dining rooms that seat between 10 and 12 people. Even if the people who own these homes don’t usually have dinner parties, they still want everything in their home to be huge.
According to Julie Link, who is the director of research and consumer insights for the Scripps Networks, who owns HGTV and the Food Network among others, the growing number of larger homes in popular entertainment isn’t an accident. The company conducted a comprehensive study that they called dynamics Shaping and Future of Home. It was the goal of the study to understand better what goes on in the lives and the homes of the people who watch shows on the Scripps Network. This helps the network cater programming to their audience. As part of the study, the network asked consumers to create diary entries, video journals, Pinterest boards, and collages. Rather than showing million dollar homes on their shows during a recession, Link says that they want to be reflective of what is going on in the homes of their viewers.
The results of the research are both surprising and not surprising. The study found that younger consumers between 25 and 39 years old are beginning to make space a priority when they are looking at homes. The study showed that 56 percent of the millennials said that having a large home is important to them. This is higher than the 42 percent of the Gen Xers and the 35 percent of the baby boomers.
While millennials are moving into larger homes today, they usually delay buying new furniture and decorative pieces until they are sure that they have found the perfect item. Once the home is purchased, they wait until they can find items to put in the home that have meaning and that are multi-functional. For example, millennials might leave a wall blank until they can frame Instagram photos from a trip that they recently took. They may not want to put anything down on the floor until they can afford an expensive, high-tech yoga mat that doubles as an elegant carpet. Millennials want to create a sanctuary in their home and they want there to be a story behind everything that they buy. According to Link, the world today seems to be getting more and more out of control, regardless of your views on politics. Millennials are looking to control something in their life and the easiest thing to take control of is their home.
People today want to cook in their kitchen, but they still want to be with their family. Therefore, they prefer one big open space rather than a separate kitchen, dining area, and television room. The reason that open floor plans are so popular is that they offer flexibility to the homeowner.
For more information about loan pre-qualification or help finding your family’s new home, contact us at info@onestophomebuyersLLC.com