Designing A Home With Future Homeowners In Mind

You may not have noticed it, but Generation Z is all grown up.

This means that this population group is now entering or set to enter the property market over the next ten years – and what they’ll be seeking out is going to significantly differ from what enticed previous generations to purchase a home. If one of your goals is to renovate and sell your home for a profit, or even simply keep your home up to modern and future living standards for you and your children – you will need to provide the kind of living space that the next generation will buy and love.

Who Are These Future Homeowners?

So far we’ve spoken a lot about Generation Z. Generation Z covers those born in the year 1995 and onwards. The unique thing about this generation is that they have been born into a world where technology, the internet and connectivity has risen to all new heights. They’re accustomed to high-speed internet connections, convenience, instant information and constant connection to one another – no matter the geographical bounds. So how do you as a renovator design or modify your home with this group in mind?

We’ve found that when it comes to housing, Generation Z’s needs are focused on three core aspects: light living, green living and mindful living.

Light Living

Small, cramped and dingy spaces? No thank you, says Generation Z. This generation prefers an abundance of natural lighting, as they’ve come to realise it promotes a carefree, relaxing atmosphere and has a very real impact on mental health and mood. Just as socialization occurs naturally in areas with a lot of natural light, people want their homes to have the same inviting qualities.

So, when renovating your home – find new ways to open up spaces. Opening up a wall to connect a kitchen and living area or putting in some french doors to an all new deck can make a world of difference in lightening up a space and promoting connectivity.

Green Living

Generation Z is a health-conscious demographic who are concerned for the future, with a keener understanding than any other generation before them of the importance of health and what’s required to maintain it. They’re also more than aware of the very real environmental cost of their lifestyles and the importance of preserving urban green spaces. This group will choose homes in close proximity to nature, such as parks, hiking trails, gyms and dog parks.

In juxtaposition to this, it also means that they may forgo their own yard in the process! With an increased focus on living near green spaces, Gen Z’ers are also far more likely to minimise their amount of yard in favour of easy maintenance areas such as gravel or paved outdoor entertaining areas.

Mindful Living

Having grown up with a wealth of information at their fingertips, Generation Z are better educated than ever – but also more overwhelmed with information than ever. There has been a recent shift in the needs of people in the 21st Century that is projected to continue growing, and that is to curate the content they receive and control how they receive it. This means that people are seeking to be more mindful in their homes, by creating more spaces for relaxation and integrating varying levels of technology to create a smart home.

Over the coming years, we expect to see not only more relaxation spaces and separate areas for different members of the family, but also the use of digital assistants to enable energy saving as well as switching off phones and computers to enable pure, uninterrupted peace while in the home. So we definitely recommend considering “mindfulness” as part of any building design.

When providing housing for the future, renovators in the Sydney market, particularly here on the Northern Beaches and North Shore need to design and modify their homes for who may be living in them in 5-10 years time. That may mean Generation Z in the form of renters, or even your own children. Or perhaps you may just want to renovate with the future in mind for your own changing tastes. Think about how we liked our houses to be designed in the 70’s and 80’s. Yeah, we shudder at the thought too.

By understanding current trends and what makes a generation tick, we can better meet their building design needs.

Need a hand planning your renovation? Well that’s what we’re here for! You can call the team at Action Plans on 1800 440 468 or click below to arrange your consultation today.