From The Residential Specialist comes a recent article featuring your’s truly!
http://trsmag.com./features/may-june-2015-features/the-most-wanted-list.html
No More ‘Swagger’
In Austin, Texas, Gail Boston, CRS, broker owner at Austin x Boston Properties, says many of her buyers are also focused on the environment. “I have a lot of clients who are specifically seeking green builders because there is such tremendous waste in construction,” she says.
That eco-friendly mindset is also playing a role in the size of homes people are buying, she says. “I’m thrilled to say those big, what I call ‘swagger,’ homes that everyone wanted when I started selling in 2006 are relics of the past,” says Boston. “Some of my same clients who bought 6,000-square-foot homes are now buying 2,500-square-foot ones closer to town. People’s priorities have changed.”
Besides the environment, the shift is being driven, she says, by a desire to save energy. Many of her clients, especially empty nesters and millennials, are also looking to live closer to central Austin to cut down on their commutes.
Cozy Comfort
Interior features that Boston says buyers are asking for include “pocket libraries” and other small, intimate tucked-away spaces that provide privacy and help break up the big, open floor plans of today’s most popular homes. “These cozy spaces are something we’re seeing a lot more interest in,” says Boston. “People still want open floor plans, but they want them broken up a bit to give the home a more intimate, cozy feel.”
Boston is also seeing more buyers turning away from granite countertops in favor of other options. “Granite is a great material, but it’s a little tired,” she says. “For the first time, I’m seeing people seeking out alternative materials like Carrera marble, which is great for bathrooms and kitchen wall splashes, stone composites and even laminates with interesting patterns.”