Yes that’s what the Ivy hall types keep trying to sell the public, but the buyers are voting with their pocket books and the builders are listening.
If I lived in Woodbury, I would move,” Marohn said. “I would not be confident the house would hold its value over time.”
FAMILIES PREFER SUBURBS
But that isn’t what’s going to happen, said Danks of the Builders Association.
Danks said the study underestimates the demand — and doesn’t understand why buyers favor single-family homes.
She said the report asked misleading questions of the millennials. “If you ask them, they will say, sure, they want to be downtown. When I was that age, that’s what I wanted,” Danks said.
As they get older and raise families, they will migrate to the suburbs, she said.
That’s what Dave DuBay did. In August, DuBay moved with his wife and three children from St. Paul into a house about twice as big in Lakeville.
“We moved to the city when we did not have kids, and moved to the suburbs when we did,” said DuBay, 42.
The house, in the Spirit of Brandtjen Farm development, is a four-bedroom home on one-third of an acre.
One reason for the move was the development’s slew of amenities, including a community pool, clubhouse with gym, and bike trails.
“The neighborhood is fantastic,” DuBay said.
A report from the National Association of Realtors supports Danks’ theory. The report said the percentage of homebuyers who bought single-family homes increased steadily from 75 percent in 2006 to 80 percent in 2013.
That’s been John Lockner’s experience. He sells homes in Woodbury for RE/MAX Results — and sales are booming.
“As long as there is market demand, the single-family home is what builders will be wedded to,” said Lockner, a former president of the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors.
Developers of urban apartments say they are more environmentally friendly because their occupants use less gasoline, as well as less water and electricity. But Lockner said the appeal of environmental friendliness is overestimated.
