popular floor plans
Open floor plans are becoming a standard in home building
What homebuyers look for
TO BE COMPLETELY OPEN, OR TO BE PARTIALLY OPEN IS THE QUESTION FOR TODAY’S NEW HOMES as builders adjust their layouts according to ever-evolving home buyer preferences. General results from NAHB surveys of home buyers in 2015 and home builders in 2016 show that buyers have a strong preference for open floor plans, and that most builders are doing their best to create those open spaces for their clients.
survey numbers
There are, however, some differences between what buyers are seeking and what builders are delivering. For example, regarding kitchen and family room layouts; 54 percent of builders said their typical new homes have a“completely open” floor plan.Yet only 32 percent of buyers said that’s what they were shopping for. As for kitchen and dining room layouts, 51 percent of builders said their typical new homes feature a “completely open”floor plan, but just 41 percent of buyers preferred this option.
open floor plan is the norm
While the surveys may suggest a slight disparity between the groups, it’s important to consider that the homebuyers survey includes responses from both new-home and existing-home shoppers. The strong demand for completely open floor plans enables builders to compensate for the shortage of such layouts in the existing home market.
These details and many others can be found in a new NAHB report. The report includes an analysis of buyer preferences for home size and the number of bathrooms, among other housing characteristics. An additional summary of the report is also available on EyeOnHousing.org.