Homebuyer Buzz: Waiting on a Suburban Housing Boom, But Maximalism Is Here

May 28, 2020

Homebuyer Buzz: Waiting on a Suburban Housing Boom, But Maximalism Is Here

Homebuyer Buzz is our monthly round-up of news stories related to the latest in homebuying trends — from the evolving wants of homebuyers to design news and more.

We’re keeping tabs on whether a suburban housing boom, fueled by coronavirus worries, pans out, while digging into the latest design trends, including maximalism (the opposite of minimalism), a focus on home health and biophilic design in tiles.  

The suburban housing boom isn’t here yet. Though there’s been speculation that the coronavirus will push more people out of cities, Zillow has found that suburban listings aren’t getting more attention than they were last year. Still, a Zillow survey did find that most people who recently started working from home would consider moving to gain more space or an actual office. [Zillow] 

Homeowners learn what they truly want. With so much wear and tear on homes after spending the past two months at home, homeowners are realizing what they value. And NAHB believes that’s efficiency, comfort and health, and they’ve got tips on how home builders can market these features to sell high performance to their customers. [NAHBNow] 

Minimalistic design is over. At least according to Sight Unseen’s annual Offsite design event. For 2020, the event was online, and the biggest takeaway was that design is heading in a bold direction — maximalism. The idea is that furniture itself, even lighting, becomes works of art, in unique patterns and colors. [Lonny] 

Not yet a HomeSphere partner?

HomeSphere connects residential construction builders with building product manufacturers to facilitate long-lasting relationships through our award-winning software platforms, My HomeSphere™ and HomeSphere-IQ®.

Air quality is a bigger issue now. All the time spent indoors is leading some homeowners to question their indoor air quality. As Builder magazine suggests, home builders could receive more questions about the health of their new builds by prospective buyersLuckily, manufacturers like Panasonic are stepping up to offer indoor air quality solutions. [Builder] 

2020 tile trends include blue and oxides. Topping the list of ceramic tile trends for 2020 is biophilic design, or tiles that mimic nature like leaf prints or abstract gardens. Blue tile also makes the list, whether to energize or a room or add a sense of calm, as well as oxides, which can have complex and compelling color stories. [Floor Daily] 

The online search for “homes for sale” rebounds. An analysis from LendingTree shows that the Google searches for “homes for sale” increased in April from their 2020 lows in each metro they studied. By the end of April, the search term had rebounded by 54 percent, with the largest increases in Tucson, Arizona, Rochester, New York, and Jacksonville, Florida. [HousingWire]