Boomers, millennials seek similar types of homes
Fans of HGTV are familiar with the two words that potential homebuyers seem to say most often: Open concept.
“Everybody wants to have wide-open floor plans,” real estate agent Bob Friend said, and that can be an anathema to people in his profession.
During a recent gathering at Atria’s in Peters Township, he gave the example of the listing for a large, well-built house just a few blocks from Oakmont Country Club, in a community known for its safe streets and quality schools.
“I can’t get anybody to buy the house because of load-bearing walls basically encapsulate the kitchen, and it’s a lot of work to go and either beam a house or tear down the wall as it is,” he explained.
Friend, an agent with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, joined company chairman Hoddy Hanna at the monthly Good Guys luncheon organized by North Strabane Township resident Jim O’Brien to talk about regional housing trends.
“They want it ready to go and basically move-in ready,” Friend, a professional golfer whose namesake father won nearly 200 games pitching for the Pirates, said. “And in Pittsburgh, the only way you’re really going to find that sort of stuff is if it’s new construction.”
That goes for older buyers and first-timers alike, according to Hanna.
“The millennial buyer and the baby boomer both want the same kind of housing. They want one-story living. They want it open, new, remodeled,” he said, addressing a roomful of people mostly in the latter age range: “We don’t want to buy a house and have to do it over. Do we?”
Since he started in the business – about a dozen years after his father, Howard W. Hanna Jr., founded the company in 1957 – he has made it a point to study the evolution of the Western Pennsylvania market from the standpoints of demographics, employment opportunities and government policy.
The ’70s and ’80s, of course, were beset by population shifts as Pittsburgh’s base of heavy industry declined, taking jobs with it. The city also lost significant numbers of residents to the suburbs, correlating with an emphasis on beefing up the area’s road system: The boom to the north following the completion of Interstate 279 stands as evidence.
Meanwhile, the advent of suburban office parks started to meet a growing demand.
“Southpointe is an excellent example of people wanting to live, play and work in the same area,” Hanna said about the Cecil Township complex that broke ground in 1993. “I think you’re going to see a lot more Southpointes being built.”
With regard to Washington County, he also sees possibilities for older communities such as Canonsburg and the city of Washington for enhancements through the practice of “flipping”: purchasing homes, then renovating and selling them.
“When you see the ones that are really doing well, they’re taking these older areas and buying these houses that people aren’t really that excited about,” Hanna explained, noting that especially with the local presence of Washington & Jefferson College, “Washington has a great potential for that.”