What Most Pre-Owned Homes Can’t Offer
What are some common compromises house hunters have to make when browsing existing homes?
Many first-time buyers head into the housing market with hopeful lists of must-haves for their new homes. However, in many areas, pre-owned homes simply don’t check all the boxes. Especially near downtown areas where housing popped up many decades ago, the market is full of older homes from the 1950s and ‘60s. Because trends in housing change so quickly, it’s difficult to find these now-important qualities in pre-owned homes that haven’t been completely flipped.
Energy-efficient technology
The past two decades have brought about such drastic change in technology and in our understanding of natural resources and climate change. It’s no wonder that homes built before the 2000’s are often not equipped with recent technology that works to cut down on costs as well as reduce damage to the environment.
Smart features like fine-tuned heating and cooling, automated watering and lighting systems, and energy monitoring equipment all play a role in helping cut down on emissions and the energy bill. Newly-built kitchens increasingly incorporate app- or voice-controlled features that streamline and simplify everyday tasks. But because these developments are so recent, it’s tough to find them in most existing homes.
Modern floor plans
Societal shifts like changes in gender roles, adapting means of socializing, and differing family structures mean that the ideal single-family home in the 1950s is far from ideal now. It used to be preferable to have closed-off kitchens, various bedrooms for lots of kids, and formal dining areas for entertaining. Now, dinner parties lean to the more collaborative side, and many prefer kitchens to be an open aspect of a large and flowing entertaining space.
Open-concept floor plans have taken center stage, and outdoor socializing spaces continue to gain popularity. Average family sizes have decreased, while home offices are on the rise. In short, what we needed 70 years ago is not what we need in a home now, and renovations involving knocking out walls to open up spaces are tricky and expensive, if not impossible.
Attractive Upgrades and Personal Touches
Above all, the lack of modern finishes and layouts that match our lifestyles mean that existing homes often just don’t feel like they’re for us. They don’t reflect what’s important to us and they aren’t organized around our priorities in the way that a home should be.
It’s common to come across pre-owned homes that are beautifully updated and flaunt some flashy upgrades - but not the ones we would have chosen. We might tour a home with an extravagant five-piece bathroom with heated floors, but all we’ve yearned for is a sprawling kitchen with quartz countertops. When we don’t get to choose what’s impressive about a house, we end up with cost-spiking upgrades we never would have spent our money on.
In response to these frustrations, many buyers are opting to start from scratch and build their own custom home. That way, the space, upgrades, and layout all reflect the lifestyle and priorities of the people who will be living there.
If you’re ready to build the home of your dreams and live out the future you’ve been waiting for, get in touch with the experts at Atmos today.
