A survey conducted by the development firm SSK shows that emotional, impulse-driven purchases are rising, alongside a growing appetite for living in visually beautiful spaces. Socialbites.ca has explored the findings and offers a North American perspective on how design and lifestyle influence housing choices today.
Across markets, developers report a shift toward emotion in decision making. Buyers are sometimes guided by feelings more than calculations, allowing seemingly irrational preferences to steer real estate choices and prompting quicker decisions.
Historically, buyers relied on objective criteria such as location, price, absence of nearby industrial zones, and thoughtful planning. These factors have long guided decisions, and many buyers still start with them before exploring personal tastes.
In the study, a primary criterion may still be one of these elements, depending on the project, budget, and personal priorities.
SSK notes a clear rise in emotional purchases, with the idea that the number of bathrooms matters less than the overall feel of a home.
When faced with a choice between a sports club within a complex and an unusual architectural design, buyers lean toward the latter. Just over 20 percent voted for a sports facility, while more than 35 percent prioritized the building’s appearance.
Similarly, lifestyle amenities hold broad appeal: almost 45 percent of potential buyers welcome the idea of a top-floor pool, underscoring a focus on aesthetics and daily life.
The layout and density of apartments matter too. The small number of apartments per floor worries exactly half of buyers, but more than 74 percent prefer the opportunity to watch a beautiful sunset from the window every day.
These figures explain the rising frequency of spontaneous purchases. Buyers are drawn to fresh, interesting, and unique sales propositions that catch attention even from the most selective buyers.
The study also points to mortgage-rate volatility as a factor. People have grown tired of waiting for rates to drop; now they want to live in a new home they can enjoy immediately.
For example, the data show a strong preference for convenient amenities: about 69.3 percent voted for nearby food outlets and almost 60 percent for parks. While 39 percent valued nurseries and schools, 43.6 percent supported a 24/7 medical center.
The demands of buyers are rising. Aesthetics, comfort, and advanced infrastructure are increasingly expected, alongside solid construction and thoughtful design.
In North American markets, some residential projects are experimenting with art-like features inside buildings, including galleries on upper floors that overlook the city and create a sense of culture within living spaces.
The trend toward convenient building layouts is spreading beyond major cities, a development that can raise the value of housing purchases in the future when projects focus on views and privacy from unsightly surroundings.
Housing growth has accelerated in recent years, aided by shifts in mortgage conditions and a reevaluation of consumer values. Developers are increasingly competing to win buyer loyalty by offering high-quality construction, thoughtful architecture, and distinctive stylistic solutions.
To sum up, the market now rewards quality, design, and unique styling as key drivers of loyalty and decision-making for home buyers in North America.
The lasting question remains how to choose an apartment that fits a modern lifestyle in today’s market, where aesthetics and practicality intertwine to shape tomorrow’s homes.