Today’s most popular new home features

Gourmet kitchens are among the most popular new home features today.

Luxury homebuyers have a lot of choices today. Looking for brand-new homes in Pasadena instead of existing real estate allows them to focus on today’s most popular new home features.

Gourmet kitchens

Gourmet kitchens are more important than ever for luxury buyers, and they can’t just look good—they have to function beautifully, too. “In the kitchen, luxury homebuyers want to be inspired. They want it to feel like something out of a high-end restaurant,” said HGTV hosts and real estate experts Jonathan and Drew Scott in a new article about luxury home design trends in Inman.

That starts with large islands for preparing and serving food as the kitchen continues to walk the line between usable space and entertainment haven. “It’s increasingly an ‘island’ nation, and the bigger the center island you can offer as an option in kitchens, the better,” said New Home Source. “Buyers are seeking larger islands as the centerpiece of their kitchen”—especially when they’re built at counter height, which removes barriers and extends sight lines. Add top-of-the-line appliances and high-end finishes and you have some popular home features that draw a crowd.

Elevators

Is it a feature millennials are looking for? Not necessarily. But for empty nesters and baby boomers who are looking for a place to retire soon or down the line, elevators are high on the list of the most popular new home features for Pasadena real estate. Many of today’s luxury home buyers are looking for the convenience and prestige of a private elevator in their new home.

One of the most in-demand and popular new home features in Pasadena is indoor-outdoor living.

Indoor-outdoor living

This is a growing trend across multiple demographics and price points, and for many of today’s luxury homebuyers, it’s a must-have. “This is especially important for those who entertain a lot and want to have flow from their kitchen to all the outdoor entertainment spaces. It truly gives you an extension of your indoor living comfort,” said the Scott twins in Inman.

Great rooms at luxury condos in Pasadena like Villas at the Ambassador Gardens lead directly out to private terraces with outdoor fireplaces—the perfect places to enjoy beautiful weather and scenery and a top reason buyers have been focusing on this upscale community of townhomes by etco HOMES.

Garages

For many new-home buyers, the idea of a garage is a given. But, in areas like Old Town Pasadena, parking can be hard to come by, even in some of the area’s luxury condos. Villas at the Ambassador Gardens’ four-car garages are one of the many high-end features that are attracting buyers to these luxury condos.

Low maintenance

It’s a trend that’s happening all across the country, with baby boomers looking to trade their maintenance-heavy home and sprawling property for a more relaxed way of life. In Boston, “empty nesters, flush with cash from a booming suburban home market and eager for a change,” are flocking to luxury condos that maximize the luxury and minimize the maintenance,” said Boston.com. And right here, new luxury townhomes inPasadena like Villas at the Ambassador Gardens are experiencing the same phenomena, with buyers seeking “a more vibrant lifestyle, to change things up now that the kids are out of the house, to reduce their commuting time and time spent on maintenance, for easier access to all the city has to offer, and to be able to walk where they want to go, which is a real change from suburban living.”

The trend is known as “lock and leave,” and it’s a popular feature for new homes today among empty-nesters. An article in Coldwell Banker’s luxury magazine, Previews Inside Out, called it, “The major trend driving the luxury real estate market right now. High net-worth individuals want less maintenance, more amenities, quality finishes,” all of which they are finding as never before when they buy a luxury condo in Old Town Pasadena.

Walkability is a driving force in real estate and one of today’s most popular new home features.

Walkability

Walkability doesn’t qualify as a new-home feature, per se, but it’s one of the top factors driving the real estate market today, for baby boomers, millennials, and everyone in between. “Americans’ housing preferences are shifting,” said Strong Towns. “Millennials are pulling away from auto-oriented, single-family suburbs in search of denser, more diverse neighborhoods, whether in large cities, older suburbs or transit-oriented villages. Their parents, the large baby boom cohort now in their 50s and 60s, increasingly seek to downsize to the same types of walkable neighborhoods.”

A survey by Urban Land Institute found that “walkability is either the top or a high priority” for new home buyers and that “the walkability of an area increases the per-foot price of commercial and residential spaces.” The study also found that demand is exceeding supply, which makes communities like Villas at the Ambassador Gardens even more desirable.

Villas is located on historic Millionaire’s Row in Old Town and within a short stroll of abundant restaurants, shops, and nightlife on Colorado Boulevard, plus cultural outlets including Norton Simon Museum and City Hall. The community offers modern, open floorplans with 2,904 to 3,717 square feet filled with today’s most popular new home features, including: gourmet kitchens with Caesarstone countertops, professional Wolf and Asco appliances, and built-in Subzero refrigerators; large, private outdoor or rooftop terraces with fireplace; private in-home elevators; and four-car garages.

Want more information about buying a new home in Pasadena? Visit Villas at the Ambassador Gardens, the newest luxury condos for sale in Old Town. You can also click here to be added to the VIP Interest List.