Next-generation homes for young buyers

New models cater to the unique needs of millennials

The usual idea of a home is a solid one- or two-story structure that has strictly defined interiors and boundaries, with no thought for eventual rearrangement. That popular conception might soon be changing, however, if two model homes from a pioneering developer are any indication.
 
Pardee Homes is exhibiting their newest offerings at the 2016 International Builders’ Show next week, although the homes would be opened to the public only starting February 1. The company is touting their designs as specifically aimed at the needs of millennial home buyers.
 
What sets these new homes apart, Pardee said, is their modularity that allows for future customization without sacrificing any functionality—a valuable combination of characteristics for most millennials.
 
“A lot of our buyers are interested in multigenerational living so their home needs to be flexible in order to accommodate their parents or a college-aged child,” Pardee division president (Southern Nevada) Klif Andrews told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
 
Andrews noted that versatility is the most important feature, as nowadays, a home is not necessarily for a single family’s use.
 
“We're also seeing millennial buyers rent out spaces to their friends for extra income,” Andrews said.
 
Andrews cited U.S. census estimates of 83.1 million Americans (as of June) born from 1982 to 2000 as a driving force in the home development industry’s shift towards catering to millennials, who are projected to be the next major purchasing cohort.