Buyers are also looking for homes that put them closer to the outdoors, she says. “People are now inviting nature to be part of the home in a whole host of ways,” says Boston. That means more buyers asking for screened-in porches. “These have really made their way back after being out of style for a long time,” she says.
Expansive outdoor kitchens are also hot items. “Even as people are moving toward smaller homes, they are not giving up entertaining,” says Boston. “Elaborate outdoor kitchen spaces are very popular places to do that.”
Some 1,700 miles northeast of Austin, Judy Reynolds, CRS, a broker/owner with Evergreen Realty in Sterling, Massachusetts, is also seeing an increasing number of buyer clients who want their homes closer to nature. “A lot of people are designing three- and four-season porches into their homes,” says Reynolds. “They really want to connect to the outside.” People are installing little gas stoves or gas fireplaces in these porches, she says, which make them especially inviting spots in the winter.
By Daniel Rome Levine
Reprinted from The Residential Specialist. See the complete article >>>