The home buyers of today and the near future belong to

three distinct segments of the population: first time buy-

ers, last time buyers, and re-starters. This article is the first

of a two-part series, which will address these three buyer

groups and their surprising similarities. This editorial will

focus on the phenomenon that Jeffrey DeMure, AIA has

dubbed The Bookend Markets, saying that “these buyers

are in the market for their first house and their last house,

respectively. We’re talking about Millennials and the older

adult segments of the early Baby Boomers and Silent Gen-

eration.” Part two of the series will address the re-starter

market, which we call The Bookmark.

MILLENNIALSUnlike yesterday’s first time buyers, the Millennials have a

multitude of options available to them. Products of hover

parents, these boomerang children have gone off to college

and are likely living with their parents again – by choice.

They will move out when they feel like it, or when some-

thing shiny and new catches their eye. This group is Avant

Garde, eccentric, eclectic, and they understand that their

choice of community and home reflects their world view.

Their value systems are based on needs, wants, and expec-

tations; and different motivational factors influence their

decisions. They are still looking for a great price, but price

isn’t enough.

THE BOOKEnd MarKEtsBY CHELSEA MORRIS , JEFFREY DeMURE + ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS PLANNERS, INC.

Rancho Cordova’s Capital Village, designed by JD+A, offers a comprehensive look at the Eight Elements of Community.

Say you have House A and House B. They’re in different

communities within the same market area. They have similar

square footages and similar prices.

What will set these two homes apart and entice the potential

buyer to pull the trigger? Well, there are several options. First,

maybe Community A is significantly more intriguing than the

other. It could offer Meaningful Open Space, distinctive ar-

chitecture, superior landscaping, and Cultural Infrastructure

with walkable connections to a Third Place (like Starbucks)

or a cool community icon (which we call The Red Bench).

Community A could also have a theme and story that is based

on Health and Wellness, which is today’s new status symbol.

Imagine if the sales agents at Community A could tell the story

of the community and how there are three miles of sidewalks

with little destinations along the way (even if these are only

wide spots in the sidewalk with benches or seat walls). The

sales agent continues on to say that the homes are healthy, with

low VOC paint, no off-gassing materials, and an air filtration

system. Telling the buyer that there’s a sustainability compo-

nent that doesn’t cost any more will be very persuasive to this

buyer. We call it Convenient Sustainability. If Community B

is offering simply a house on a lot in a “subdivision”… guess

who will get the sale.

Millennials are looking for – and expect – good design. Trend-

watching (www.trendwatching.com) calls this phenomenon

the democratization of design, illustrating that “just because

I don’t have money, doesn’t mean I don’t have taste.” This

buyer wants less square footage, allocated into more room and

less rooms. Think high touch, high efficiency yacht design

meets the Design Within Reach Airstream. And they want the

Distinctive and authentic architecture, such as this moderne home, in concert with other community building elements, is a huge draw for buyers.

The DWR Airstream trailer is a great example of the mid-century modern aesthetic.

house to be connected out of the box; they don’t want to have

to jump through any hoops to be wired (or wireless, rather).

From a style perspective, Millennials are into nostalgia, which,

in this case doesn’t mean a 1914 bungalow, but rather a mid-

century modern in the suburbs on a street with sidewalks. This

style is a departure from the contrived Tuscan villages and

French cottages that have dominated the market – it’s retro re-

discovered: Nouveau Retro. And back to Convenient Sustain-

ability, think of the aesthetic opportunity presented by solar

panels on a mid-century modern versus the implications of the

same solar panels on a European cottage. Remember: a thing

of beauty is a joy forever, but ugly just hurts every day.

Beyond aesthetics, this buyer has now been through a reces-

sion and realizes that a house is a long-term investment, not a

cash cow; it’s truly an investment in life, lifestyle, and legacy.

The recent past has been painful, and the mid-century modern

aesthetic embodies fresh beginnings.

OLDER ADULTSThis year, there are over 40 million older adults over the age

of 65 in the United States. Within ten years this segment will

make up over half of the US population. Now you know why

they call it the Silver Tsunami!

The early Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation share many

surprising parallels with the Millennials. They have a similar

desire for connection as well as a tendency toward the mid-

century modern design aesthetic, although this is based mostly

on comfort and familiarity, as it is likely what they have lived

in for much of their lives.

A mid-century modern home, elegant in its simplicity.

Many Older Adults and Millennials alike are members of a

group tied together by values rather than age. This group,

identified by sociologist Paul H. Ray and psychologist Sherry

Ruth Anderson, has been dubbed The Cultural Creatives. Ray

and Anderson have found that over one quarter of the adult

population of the United States belongs to this group. This

segment of the population is comprised of educated, lead-

ing-edge thinkers and includes artists, wellness professionals,

and a range of other mavens of the arts and various industries.

What does this mean? It means that this is a group that is likely

not going to settle for the norm. This is a group that wants that

small mid-century modern home, because it is aligned with

their artistic sensibilities, the value they place on quality of de-

sign over quantity of house, and desire to have left over money

at the end of the month.

The Older Adult groups have given and given and given and

are ready for a little “me time.” They are ready to downsize,

have less financial responsibility and use the extra to travel,

give back to society, and have social lives.

And when they downsize, they want to purchase their last

home. AARP conducted a study and found that, when asked,

a full 90% of Baby Boomers want to age in place. Aging in

place (what we prefer to call “Living in Place”) is a phenom-

enon that has taken the world by storm, and if you’re a builder

or a developer, it’s not as hard as you may think to address this

segment of the market though thoughtful design based on Liv-

able Design™ principles.

HEALTH AND WELLNESSA value that brings these groups together is health and well-

ness. The Bookends have discovered that there is little in life

that they can control – they can’t control the economy, the po-

litical climate, or the success of their portfolios. What they can

control is their health and wellness, it is has become the new

status symbol.

In 2009, the health and wellness segment of the retail indus-

try is the only one that actually expanded. There is even a

movement in America toward achieving a balance between

The Seven Dimensions of Wellness: Social, Emotional, Spiri-

tual, Environmental, Occupational, Intellectual, and Physical.

These elements interconnected, and a harmony exists between

all seven dimensions.

“The Seven Dimensions of Wellness can be expressed as a plat-

form for community through a concept we developed at JD+A,

called The Eight Elements of Community,” says DeMure,

“These elements are comprised of Meaningful Open Space,

Cultural Infrastructure, The Red Bench, The Third Place, Con-

nectivity, Walkability, Placemaking, and Wayfinding.” These

are the pieces that create a distinctive and meaningful commu-

nity that buyers can identify with and call their own.

Another expression of wellness exists in the concept of Livable

Design™, a concept JD+A pioneered with Eskaton, a 41-year

old non-profit provider of services for Older Adults. Livable

Design challenges typical home design to imagine if homes

were designed for everyone – regardless of age or mobility.

The goal of Livable Design™ is to change the way homes are

built in order to accommodate everybody in both functional

and beautiful ways. Imagine a veteran returning home from

Iraq with a traumatic brain injury that causes the soldier to

drag a leg; stairs can be quite an impediment in this situation.

Zero threshold entries and showers would mean the difference

between embarrassment and dignity for this person who has so

gallantly served our country. Or consider the mother of three

young children with a stroller and carrying any number of

kid-related items at any given time, do you think wider doors

and hallways would make a difference in her life? Think of

grandpa with his wheelchair; how would a removable toe-kick

under a sink and cooktop in the kitchen help him keep his inde-

pendence? Finally, imagine your family at home, how would

you feel knowing that the air that they breathe is pure and free

of toxins? I imagine you’d probably feel pretty good.

Health and wellness is not a fad or a passing trend, and it’s

more than just a selling point. It’s a statement of your values

as a company, and you’d better bet that today’s buyers are re-

searching more than just your sales price and floor plan offer-

ings. Today’s buyers are going to be Googling your company

and your company’s leadership team to find out what you do

behind the scenes, what your values are, and what makes you

tick. By being able to make a strong statement of values, you

will stand apart from the competition.

This concept for a removable toe-kick can mean the difference between independence and dependence in the life of a person with limited mobility.

OPPORTUNITYToday’s builders and developers have a chance to develop truly

meaningful communities that address the values of the buyers.

Hopefully this article has given you confidence in knowing

that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a differ-

ence in buyers’ lives and outsell your competition. You can

build modest Nouveau Retro homes that are elegant in their

simplicity and address health and wellness through conscious

design and material choices. Your community can rise above

the rest with thoughtful landscape design and simple commu-

nity icons – as small as a Red Bench – and attention to place-

making and wayfinding details. Ultimately, you don’t want to

just compete in a market, you want to create a monopoly. You

want buyers to recognize your communities by name – and

recognize your company by name. How do you create this

brand recognition? Host a block party in a community that

you recently completed. Show your buyers that you care about

them, even after you’ve made the sale. Create a buzz. Create

raving fans and unpaid spokespeople. Make sales go viral.

Create a monopoly.

WHETHER YOU THINK YOU CAN,

OR THINK YOU CAN’T. YOU’RE RIGHT.

(Henry Ford)

Beazer Homes participated in a party hosted by the City of Rancho Cordova at Capital Village, a project designed by JD+A.

At JD+A, we don’t trademark ideas, we trustmark them. In the spirit of collaboration, we trust that if our concepts inspire you, you’ll invite us to join your team.

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