When buyers go through their list of must haves, the list is a lot different than in years gone by.

When is the last time you heard a buyer ask their agent for a Library? The practice of reading actual hard cover books is on the decline.

This change will continue as the Baby Boomers are replaced by the Millennials. Who knows in the near future it may be common to have an IT room, we already have gone through the media room era!

Living rooms continue to be replaced by great rooms that combine kitchens and family rooms, with plenty of room to do everything from homework to entertaining. It is expected that the stand alone living rooms and especially the formal living rooms as they have been used or identified in the past will either vanish altogether, or transition into other types of rooms. But it's not the only room fading away. Mudrooms, third bathrooms and formal dining rooms are also expected to slowly disappear from new-home plans.

Buyers who have lived in these houses with segmented rooms, have found that some rooms go unused or become used for different purposes. As an example many builders now place a home office at the front of the house where the formal living room was traditionally positioned. Many people choose to make rooms multi-functional. Rooms have purpose a place you actually use for more than fancy-but-uncomfortable furniture storage.

The continued evolution of houses built with the "Open" concept is more conducive to the "Transitional" build techniques buyers may need as they get older. The trend is to not be bigger but be more efficient. This trend takes us into our next topic which is the "Tiny" houses.