The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) newest edition of What Home Buyers Really Want reveals that potential buyers are willing to compromise on the exterior aspects of their property in order to purchase a home, indicating both good news and a challenge for Landscape Architects.

 
In the study, home buyers were willing to compromise on the property surrounding a home before compromising anything to do with the home itself. In fact, 39% of home buyers said they were willing to take a smaller lot if it meant giving them the opportunity to own a home at all. Though current zoning laws mandate lot sizes, a demand for more affordable options might lead to a decrease in the minimum square footage. If changed, this means that home buyers will have less options available for exterior amenities or that Landscape Architects will have to be more creative fitting the same amenities in a smaller area.

The second compromise home buyers would be most willing to take involves buying regular-sized lots with fewer existing exterior amenities, which 36% of home buyers said they would consider. This statistic shows that home buyers might still want those amenities in the future but are willing to wait in order to make the current home purchase cheaper. Landscape Architects can take heart that they will likely be contacted once those homeowners reach a place where they can take on the financial cost of adding those amenities they passed on when they bought the home.

The next two compromises on the list include finding a home further from the urban core and buying a smaller house, with 36% and 35% of home buyers choosing these options, respectively. It is worth noting that changes to the dream home do not trail far behind from exterior compromises on the list, showing that landscape space is still important in the mind of today's home buyers.

To see more information about the desires of current home buyers and the rest of the statistics, go to: https://eyeonhousing.org/2024/05/top-compromises-buyers-will-make-to-reach-homeownership/?_ga=2.175956002.1226939499.1719341061-575749809.1718987030