Spending months cooped up at home has changed what people want in a house.
Open concepts, minimalism and urban living are out. More bedrooms, office space and outdoor amenities are in.
Even in this red-hotreal estate market, buyers have changed their priorities to meet their lifestyle of spending more time at home.
Here are the features that New Jersey real estate agents say are gaining popularity and what’s no longer important:
Pools. A house with a pool used to draw a small sample of buyers. “In the past people either wanted a pool or if they didn’t you weren’t even going to show them a home with a pool,” said Missy Iemmello, office manager for Weichert Realtors in Morris Plains. “Now pools are probably number one on everybody’s list.”
Homes with pools often sell before they even hit the market, she said, by agents sharing them with a buyer they’re already working with or a small group of buyers.
Staycations or having something to do outdoors while safe at home are driving this frenzy for pools.
Outdoor space. Decks, patios and yards are also highly sought after. Construction supply prices are at a premium since the pandemic began, so adding a paver patio or building a deck is expensive and it’s tough to find available contractors, said James Hughes a broker salesman at Compass New Jersey, LLC in Montclair. “You can’t get those guys,” he said. “I have people calling me.”
Location. People are willing to move to more rural areas. Iemmello said the 120 agents she works with are seeing more interest in Sussex and Warren counties than ever before. These homes further out west that are listed for $300,000 to $400,000 are selling for $20,000 to $40,000 over asking price with multiple bids. Prior to the pandemic, “You wouldn’t see multiple offer situations there for sure,” she said.
Public transportation’s not important. Most people who commuted into New York City won’t be doing so any time soon. “A lot of big companies realized their employees can be more productive at home,” said Robert White, President-elect of New Jersey Realtors and a managing broker at Coldwell Banker Realty in Spring Lake. “So it’s not as important to have commutability to a job. And even if they do go back, the company will institute a work from home schedule. So they’re not worried about having to commute 5 days a week. If they do have to commute it will only be one or two days a week.”
His office is seeing clients who have sold their homes in Westfield, Ridgewood or the Caldwells and relocated full-time to a Jersey Shore house they already owned or they’re buying one.
Space in general. People want more elbow room. And that means different things to different buyers, depending on where they’re coming from. “For someone moving from Center City, a townhouse is elbow room. Someone moving from a single family home in North Jersey wants a home on a half acre,” said Darlene Mayernik a broker associate with Keller Williams Premier in Robinsville
Home office. More people working from home means they need a dedicated space to get their work done. Home offices -- and even a separate office for each adult -- are high on the must-have list for buyers. Buyers are willing to convert a living room or use one of the bedrooms for office space. “If they only need three bedrooms, they’re requesting four. Or a nook in the basement. But ideally they want the office space to be on the first floor,” Mayernik said.
Open concept is out. Managing noise, activity -- even quarantining if someone in the house is sick -- is a lot more difficult in an open concept home. “Everyone wanted open concept,” Hughes said. “People want defined rooms and walls now.”
Bedrooms for each child. People who have three children were willing to let two share a room. But now that kids are homeschooling it’s more important for each child to have his or her own room where they can set up a work area. “I think what parents have found and hear is that it’s a lot easier for kids to stay focused during the school day ... without having their brother or sister sitting next to them and having interruptions,” said White.
Well and septic aren’t deal breakers. People who have only had public water and sewer services are more willing to take on wells and septics to get the space and other items on their wishlist. Mayernik said she worked with a family that moved from Long Island to Columbus. “I showed them one house that had everything they wanted but it had well and septic,” she said. “They had to do some research but they figured out they were ok with it. We closed 35 days later.”
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Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
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