At Home: Move over luxury, consumers want improvements that profit

by: Mercy Hospital

At Home: Marni Jameson finds nothing too shocking in a new report from American Institute of Architects. 

So often I read studies and ask myself: They paid someone to study this? They could have just asked me. For instance, a study from a British (need I say more) insurance company found that the rate of men's car accidents go up with hemlines. I'm floored. Positively floored!
And the National Post recently reported these findings from the Journal of the Obvious: Polygamy makes for unhappy families. That's right. A Malaysian study determined that almost all the children and most of the wives didn't love the arrangement.
Similarly, when I got “an exclusive” look at a just-released report from the American Institute of Architects, nothing in it shocked me.
Apparently, since 2005 the institute has conducted a quarterly House Trends Survey, which gathers the collective perceptions of residential architects and asks them how it's going. I'm not sure how useful this is, except to offer a form of group therapy in exchange for the architects' membership dollars:
Is everyone else's business as bad as mine?
Yes.
A look back over the past few years shows that the business for residential architects has gone from bad to really bad to really really bad, back to bad, and now is between bad and really bad.
Anyone with instincts sharper than a butter knife can tell you it's not good out there. Not for architects, builders, interior designers, real estate agents, homeowners, mortgage lenders or furniture sellers. Or, well, you get the point. Am I missing something?
“What we usually find is that the numbers pretty well reflect what we're seeing in the marketplace,” says Scott Frank, AIA spokesman, making my point exactly.
“So why do you do keep doing the survey, I mean, if you already know?”
“I'd have to ask the economics department.”
Save that sentence. It's pretty much the perfect one to use to end any conversation.
Here's the gist of the AIA's second quarter 2011 findings: Because homeowners are feeling nervous about overextending themselves with home improvement projects, the days of splurging on luxury indulgences such as home theaters and wine cellars are over. Instead homeowners are making improvements that can either help them make money or save money.
“Home theaters used to be huge,” Frank said. “They hit a high water mark in 2006 to 2007. Then the crash came. Since 2010 the home office has emerged as the specialty room of choice. People want rooms that will help them generate income.”
Here are some more findings, which you probably could have guessed, from the latest AIA Home Design Trends Survey:
• Working at home. Home offices have far surpassed home theaters as the favorite specialty room; 36 percent of architects surveyed said it was the most popular special function room they'd been asked to do. Only 8 percent said home theaters were.
• Connecting. As homeowners seek to do more teleworking, anything and everything wireless has gotten hotter: 50 percent of those polled said that was a rising preference, compared to 44 percent last year.
• Outdoor living. Nabbing the No. 2 spot after home offices were outdoor living areas. As Americans replace vacations with staycations, and opt for more informal, home-centered activities, they're putting their money into outdoor spaces with kitchens and fire pits that they can enjoy year round, while possibly raising their home's value for when the market does come back.
• Energy efficiency. Any product that promised energy savings was highly desirable, according to 69 percent of those surveyed. Among items gaining interest were tankless water heaters, better insulation, solar panels, and water saving devices.
• Accessibility. As boomers look for ways to age in place gracefully, more are changing their homes to accommodate that. Downstairs master bedrooms were gaining momentum, said 47 percent surveyed, and so were ramps and elevators.
• Boosting resale. While the demand for new homes, trade-up homes, and second homes was even weaker than last year, room additions or alterations, and remodeled kitchens and baths were stronger.
• Smaller projects. Although new construction is way down, architects are learning to make do with smaller projects. Remodeling, retrofitting and renovation are taking the place of new construction, at least until a new survey tells us otherwise.
Syndicated columnist and speaker Marni Jameson is the author of “House of Havoc” and “The House Always Wins” (Da Capo Press). Contact her through www.marnijameson.com.