Emerging Trends in Home Construction: Highlights from the 2025 Show
The new home builders invest significant resources and effort into researching what homebuyers truly want, and their findings offer valuable insights. For home sellers, this is a golden opportunity—by incorporating some of these updates and upgrades while living in your home, you can boost its value and marketability when it’s time to sell. Staying ahead of the game with these trends can make all the difference! This year’s home construction show revealed exciting shifts, from shrinking square footage to fire-safe features and luxurious upgrades. Here’s a rundown of the key highlights shaping the future of homes in 2025 and beyond.
First, Color of the year 2025 is……
For 2025, Pantone has chosen PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse as its Color of the Year. This warm, mellow brown is described as “evocative and comforting,” and is a departure from the soft peach hue of 2024’s Peach Fuzz.
Shrinking Home Sizes and Changing Demographics
The median home size continues to trend downward, currently sitting between 2,100 and 2,300 square feet, with experts predicting a further drop to around 2,000 square feet. This shift is driven by changing homeownership demographics—fewer families with children, often just one or none. Smaller homes are also a response to rising costs, making compact, efficient designs like A-frame units popular, especially for vacation homes in remote areas where labor and materials are scarce.
Multifamily and Attached Homes on the Rise
Rowhouses and duplexes are gaining traction as a cost-saving strategy, particularly in urban areas like Portland. These attached products allow builders to maximize smaller lots while keeping costs down. Kitchens remain a focal point, balancing high-end features like outdoor grills with affordable price points, often achieved by reducing masonry and using diverse siding panels for architectural interest.
Fire Safety Innovations
In fire-prone regions, new products are making homes safer:
- Ridge Sprinklers: These award-winning sprinklers pop out like lawn sprinklers, dousing the home with water when a fire approaches. They can be activated remotely or triggered by sensors.
- Vent Systems: Automatic vents close when detecting nearby fire, preventing embers from entering attics or crawl spaces.
- Fencing Solutions: Jurisdictions are moving away from wooden fences, which exacerbate fires, toward metal, aluminum, or masonry options like brick to slow fire spread between homes.
Modern Design and Indoor-Outdoor Living
Builders are prioritizing natural light and spaciousness:
- Larger Windows: Spending on windows and doors has increased fivefold, with floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall glass creating an indoor-outdoor feel.
- Smart Glass: A new product, controlled by a switch, shifts between clear and frosted for privacy in bathrooms or front doors.
- Glass Garage Doors: Sleek modern additions, enhance aesthetics and functionality, especially for garages used as entertaining spaces.
Innovative Products and Features
This year’s show introduced creative solutions:
- Front Door Locking System: A vein-reading lock opens with a hand wave, ideal for families with kids.
- Paintball Protection System: A quirky security feature sprays paintballs at porch pirates, aiding in identification.
- Compact Powder Room: A 14-inch deep, space-saving design with a swing-out toilet, perfect for small homes.
- Bidet Toilets: Now with hot water and advanced tech, these are increasingly popular.
- Hammy Tub: An award-winning soaking tub, resembling a hammock, caters to the demand for non-jetted, spa-like features.
Space Optimization and Lifestyle Shifts
- Great Rooms Evolve: Buyers want conversational spaces over TV-centric ones, with hidden TV nooks gaining interest.
- Paneling Over Wallpaper: Beveled paneling is the new rage, offering a modern, clean look.
- Built-Ins and Zoom Spaces: Built-in storage and dedicated Zoom areas, often with decorated backdrops like bookshelves, keep homes clutter-free and video-call ready.
- Bedroom Hierarchy: Plans now feature a luxurious owner’s suite, a smaller junior suite for guests, and compact flex rooms for childless couples.
Kitchen and Appliance Trends
- Scullery Kitchens: These secondary spaces, with sinks or dishwashers, keep main kitchens tidy and are trickling down to lower price points.
- Versatile Sinks: Hinged attachments maximize counter space in small kitchens.
- Under-Counter Induction: Burners hidden beneath solid surfaces double as counter space.
- Cordless Appliances: Future under-counter charging stations will power cordless appliances wirelessly.
- Black Matte Appliances: The color of the year, inspired by matte car finishes, dominates alongside brass and stainless.
Luxury and Wellness Upgrades
- Cold Plunge: Post-COVID, buyers crave spa-like features, with cold plunges leading over saunas.
- Laundry Rooms: Larger, luxurious rooms with built-in risers replace stackable units.
- Dog Rooms: Multi-use spaces with built-in crates, doggie doors, and even separate HVAC systems cater to pet owners.
- Electric Fireplaces: Advanced designs look stunning and are increasingly popular.
Architectural and Tech Integration
- Rounded Edges: Arched designs, curved islands, and furniture soften the 90-degree norm.
- Robotic Systems: Builders are integrating products like self-filling robotic mops, stored under sinks or in niches with outlets.
- Color Drenching: Walls, ceilings, and furniture in a single hue, like the 2025 color of the year—moose, a rich brown—create a serene look.
Conclusion
The 2025 home construction show reflects a market adapting to cost pressures, smaller households, and a desire for safety, luxury, and tech. From fire-safe innovations to compact designs and wellness features, builders are rethinking homes for modern buyers. Have you spotted other trends? Let us know your thoughts!
Presented by Kerry Steinmetz at Fidelity Title , June 4, 2025 as a part of Real Estate Development continuing education class, summarized by Shawn Yu, Portland Oregon Korean Realtor.
Shawn Realty 