Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
In the past many people found their dream home in the suburbs, but now all that is changing. This is due to several different factors such as the falling birthrate and more people choosing to live alone.
These changes are highlighted in an article on aol.com and show how people's needs and dreams are evolving. In the past most people wanted large houses in the suburbs with a big yard and possibly a pool, but these lifestyles came as a price. It's not uncommon for people living in the suburbs to spend an hour or even longer commuting to work, and in addition many of the suburbs are quite isolated as it's not possible to walk to local stores and neighborhoods often lack a real center such as a main street. As such, living in these areas can often become a little boring, especially for people whose lives don’t revolve around their children’s school and activities.
© CurvaBezier - Fotolia.com
Nowadays people's needs are changing and they are less concerned about having a huge house that can be difficult to heat and costly to maintain. When the real estate market crashed and more people began moving back to the cities, and as a result more new homes are being built in these areas. In cities such as Portland, new building permits were just 9% in the early 90s, a figure that has now increased to some 38%. Major developers such as the Toll Brothers have also found that the suburban home sales now account for 50% of the market compares to 70 or 80% just a few years ago.
Perhaps it's hardly surprising as fewer people are having children which is often a major reason for moving to the suburbs. Today smaller apartments are being built in major cities such as Boston, Chicago, New York City, Seattle and San Francisco, to appeal to those who don't have too much money to spend but who do want to live in an urban area. Some experts are even predicting that during the next decade or so they could be a huge surplus of big homes built on larger lots.
Even though urban living may appeal, the cost of doing so is increasing, but it doesn't necessarily mean living in a major city. Many of these newer homes are being built in smaller towns and even in some suburbs, provided there's some sort of center to focus on.
