Does Today's Buyer Prefer Formal Dining or Casual Dining?
The trend in NEW Construction is 'Build It Smaller & They Will Buy It'. The average Pinehurst Buyer is no longer looking for the biggest house on the block. They are shopping for the most affordable house on the block, which usually means less square footage.
The majority of the Builders in Pinehurst are building smaller homes with a square footage range of 1,800 - 2,500 HSF. The Buyer's for these homes are wanting either three bedrooms and an office OR four bedrooms, therefore, it proves difficult to squeeze in a Formal Dining Room. If you do squeeze it into the floor plan, then the room is so small that you can't even use a large dining table comfortably, so what's the point?...and, forget about adding a hutch or a sidebar!
This floor plan sketch you see below is our next spec home project and it is has a 'LOFT-LIKE LIVING' space with only one Dining Area (which is very spacious!). No Formal Dining Room!
My thoughts are that the Formal Dining Room is one of the least used rooms in the entire house and it is taking up valuable space.
I know mine is!!!
My Formal Dining Room is only used for special occasions, holidays, or when we have more than 4 people to seat. Otherwise we are using our Casual Dining Area, which is open to the Kitchen and the Great Room. It's just another room with lots of furniture that I have to dust and keep clean...ugh.
First-Time Homebuyers typically don't have Formal Dining Room Furniture.
Buyer's with children don't use the Formal Dining Room for everyday meals.
Retirees want less square footage overall, so one Dining Area is sufficient.
So, I ask YOU...
- Do you currently have a Formal Dining Room?
- If yes, how often do you use it?
- If you were in the market to buy a new home, would a Formal Dining Room be a 'Must Have'?
- What Do YOU Want?...Formal or Casual Dining or BOTH?
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