10 Key Ideas that are Changing the Form of Communities

Recently, WHA had the opportunity to both attend and speak on a panel at the 1st Annual Denver Housing Design Summit in Colorado. Bill Hezmalhalch, alongside other building industry leaders Howard Englander, Carl Lagoni, and Mike Woodley, led a panel on Creative Visioning—how to approach design and keep their creative edge.

The conference provided great insight on the future of the housing market and the trends that are shaping our industry. Here are key ideas that may change the form of neighborhoods and communities of the future.

1. Home buyers are now utilizing the internet to buy a home. At least 28% are using the internet to locate a home and make an initial offer to buy and avoid sales agents as long as possible.

2. Millennials, those born between 1981 and 2001, are becoming the largest homebuyer population segment.

 3. Low-mobility era where people are not moving as much as they have in the past reducing the demand for new home construction is occurring.

 4. Amazon has started a mortgage company:  What will Amazon “Prime” mean in the future?

5. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla Inc., is expected to enter into home design and possibly the home building business.

6. Autonomous cars may reduce the need for two-car households providing 200 additional square feet for living space in the garage.  In urban areas thousands of square feet of parking lots could become available for development.

7. “Surban,” a mix of suburban homes around a Town Center is becoming a new urban/suburban form.

8. Agri-Communities that move away from mass-produced food and increase interest in farmer’s markets are trending.

• 30% buy their food online and have it delivered.
• Grow rooms in kitchens are being planned
• Ikea is selling food growing cabinets in Europe

9. The Community, then Neighborhood amenities, are key influences on the choice of a home purchase including: walkability, bicycle connectivity, parks, water (rivers, streams and lakes), good schools, and HOA event programming for all ages.

10. Modern Design equals smaller homes with higher finish levels.