With the spring homebuying season well underway, it’s always fun to take a look at the newest trends and must-haves in the housing market. And for the average person, it’s not a stretch to say that the last five years have caused a massive shift in everyday life — one that continues to have lingering effects on how they live, work, and relax in their homes.
Ulrich Real Estate Group, based in Wayzata, is seeing these trends play out firsthand as they assist homebuyers with building custom homes or discovering an existing home to meet their needs.
The mother-daughter duo of Beth Ulrich and Chelsey Danielson has noticed some particular trends tied to family, leisure, and work.
“Proximity to family has been a huge trend — lots of people moving closer to grandparents, kids, or siblings to be surrounded by their people. People really seem to want to be close all hanging out on one level, close to activities, close to each other,” Chelsey says.
Whether with new construction or an existing home, the location is just as important as the amenities inside the home. Having friends and family nearby is enticing for people of all ages, especially for families.
The “walkability” of the area has also proven to be a major draw for homebuyers.
According to Chelsey, families are seeking areas that allow them to walk to shops, restaurants, and other amenities. “The sense of community and activity just outside of your front door and a few steps away” is a priority.
The Lake Minnetonka area is a huge draw for this exact reason, with families often moving to the area for the beautiful sights and community ties.
When it comes to the home itself, privacy is still an important element, especially with more gatherings happening in the home rather than in town compared to previous years. Families are specifically looking for more space in the form of big yards with outdoor spaces for entertaining or hanging out. This typically means homeowners are looking for privacy fences or mature trees between their property and the neighbors.
Moving inside the home is where the real fun begins for recent trends, specifically those tied to work and leisure.
When determining what will work best for a particular client, Beth and Chelsey ask questions about their day-to-day schedules, interests, and how they spend their free time. “Trends depend on the lifestyle of our buyers,” Chelsey notes.
Most recently, Beth and Chelsey have seen an increased interest in home offices, playrooms, golf simulators, and saunas.
Having a dedicated home office space for work has been a growing trend as more people work from home and need a secluded environment. Many of these offices are outfitted with French doors or transom windows to allow natural light to seep in and provide better accessibility to see other areas of the home.
Within that same vein, dedicated playrooms for the kids help keep the rest of the house free of clutter and create a safe space for the children to spend their time — a win-win for parents wanting to relax in another room.
Golf simulators and saunas are two of the more unique trends coming out of this homebuying season as more people want their homes to simultaneously be places of comfort and enjoyment.
Despite the newer trends around family, work, and leisure, the biggest must-have Ulrich Real Estate Group continues to see is the open main floor layout. Open floor plans aren’t necessarily a new trend, but recently, this must-have is directly linked to the desire for all the other amenities. From easy access to the backyard for entertaining to easy viewing when working or lounging around the house, the open floor plan is a sleek layout perfect for accommodating today’s newest trends.
“I do think that COVID and remote work has shifted some lifestyles and day-to-day and thus created some new wants/needs for our buyers,” Chelsey says.
Ready to enter the housing market this spring? Ulrich Real Estate Group is here to help you find or build that perfect abode that offers a true sense of home.
Proximity to family has been a huge trend—moving closer to grandparents, kids, or siblings.