Recession Should Change Tastes

This year will be an interesting year for real estate in Toronto and North America in general. On one hand, falling real estate values, tight mortgage conditions and a significant degree of financial anxiety are having a negative impact on the way we feel about our homes. For many people, it must feel like burdens from another time, on the other hand, it is times like this that our homes should become more important in our lives, as a much needed sanctuary or retreat to keep us away from the stresses of a hectic world.

This should be a time of caution, not inaction, but carefully evaluate risk to maximize the quality of our domestic life. It is also a time for optimism that will alter the fast course of the housing industry that has lingered for far too long.

On this note, here is an interesting article by Elizabeth Razzi in Washington Post that questions what will homes look like after this recessions?

Razzi points out the recent drop in home values, burdensome debts and retirement savings value may demand different kinds of houses than the ones in the recently built neighborhoods. There may be a shift in trend to see smaller houses, more sustainable, built closing together, with more attention to siting of the house on the lot to access privacy and a spot to nature. Razzi predicts we will have far more smaller houses because the cost of building infrastructure to provide city services to these compact neighborhoods are lower. Most importantly, people will put in more thought into what requires to be put into their home to be more comfortable to live in.