Building your first home and finding all the “essential” features posted online a bit overwhelming? Maybe some of them seem a bit unnecessary? New-home sales are expected to climb from 431,000 last year to 557,000 this year — a 29% increase! People have started to catch on to the fact that building a new home means you can make your own custom home plans.
So here’s a guide to the five most practical, economical, and desirable features custom home builders are asked to include these days.
- Environmentally friendly or energy efficient anything. Although the initial cost of these features may be pretty steep, 55% of people who purchased or built a National Green Building Standard certified green home believed the benefits outweighed the costs. Think energy efficient windows and lights!
- Strategically placed outlets and covert conduits. Now that big screen TVs are a standard in many homes, many people don’t want the unsightly appearance of wires and cords hanging down the wall. Custom home builders are now happy to lay out a plan for outlets that will serve a specific purpose.
- Open layouts. This is a major desire of those laying out custom home floor plans. Home entertaining is on the rise, and with an open layout, your guests can interact with you as you’re preparing food because the kitchen and living area blend together.
- A separate washer and dryer room. No more lugging laundry in the basement for those who want modern luxury homes. Many custom home builders are asking for a spacious laundry room either on the first floor or, just recently, are interested in moving it to the second floor where most of the bedrooms reside.
- Ample storage space. A top priority and a common site on custom home designs, people have realized that you can never have enough storage space. Having the builders install racks, hooks, and shelves in basements, attics, and garages is a huge bonus and adds value to any home.
-
Home buyers planning to build or buy a brand-new house often cite energy efficiency, open layout, a warranty, and being able to select appliances, flooring, paint colors and other design elements as factors driving their choice. It’s always easy to feel overwhelmed with all the options for custom home plans out there, but hopefully this short, but essential, list is manageable and do-able when preparing to build your custom house.
Read more.
