It used to be all about the kitchen and master bath. That’s what sold a house. But times have definitely changed.
The Covid pandemic and the advent of remote work have given buyers pause to reset their priorities of what is most important in their future home, and the first thing on their wish list now is a home office with a door. Or, if a working couple, possibly two of them.
Texas real estate expert Lance Taylor owns Taylor Team DFW, and having followed his grandfather and father into the business has seen firsthand the shift in must-have attributes. Details about a home office is now one of the first questions buyers ask. “And they’re not only needing that, they’re needing offices that are separate and away from the rest of the home. Many times they have children who are zooming in to school and so they need separate spaces with doors that close.”
Not many people were thinking about that a couple years ago.
Taylor says another big change he has seen in his family’s multigenerational approach to real estate is a transition from an emphasis on “location, location, location,” dictated in the past by commutes and work locations. But if you’re working from home, your home can be anywhere. “Commute times are being factored differently,” he suggests. “People can go further out and buy new construction or they buy a larger lot to get more space.”
Air quality is also something that never used to rank high on the priority list that is getting more attention in these health conscious times dictated by an airborne virus, as are backyard swimming pools, an option for family entertainment when options have been severely reduced.
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