PRESS RELEASE

Sacramento Bee
July 13, 2004

NEW HOME BUYERS WANT COMMUNITIES THAT CONNECT THEM WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Cocooning is out; hiving is in

Today's new-home buyers want to live in communities abuzz with activity. Gone are the days of "cocooning," when people turned inward, making their homes a retreat from the outside world. People want neighborhoods or "beehives" where they can connect with others, and houses designed to promote family togetherness.

Jill Shannon, director of sales and marketing for Parker Development Company, spoke at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference, a building industry convention in San Francisco last month, to get in on the forefront of this major shift. "We need to focus on homes - both inside and out - that nurture relationships," she said, adding that her company -- developers of the master-planned communities of Serrano in El Dorado Hills and The Parkway in Folsom -- and other industry members are already moving in the right direction.

Architects are introducing "gathering kitchens" that provide room for a few cooks at one time, and garages that include areas for families to work together on crafts and other projects. They're designing homes that nurture relationships, with casitas, second master suites and other spaces for aging parents or "boomerang-ing" college-age children. Landscape designers are incorporating outdoor rooms into their plans to bring people together with everything from full kitchens to home theatres with outdoor plasma TV screens. And master-planned community developers are placing emphasis on trails, parks and common areas for community activities and events, as well as helping neighbors connect via social clubs geared toward common interests.

Nostalgia is big. "People want to recapture the good old days when life revolved around friends and family," says Shannon. Model homes in Parker Development's Serrano community feature hobby rooms for old-fashioned pursuits like scrap booking, as well as large bonus rooms with pool tables for casual entertaining. There is resurgence in family dinners and family game nights with board games enjoying a big comeback. And for nostalgia, one Houston developer arranges for a milkman to deliver free milk to new residents' homes for their first six months in the community.

Life in the Fast Lane

"After decades of being in the fast lane, Americans crave a simpler life and a slower pace," Shannon says, ticking off some points about society in recent years.

In the past decade, we've seen more Americans "bowling alone," compared to a generation ago when they belonged to leagues, according to a study by Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam. That's because they're time-poor.

People say they want more time with their families but don't know how to get it. According to the documentary "Running Out of Time," the time Americans spend with their kids has declined 40 percent over the past generation, and the American couple typically spends only 12 minutes a day talking with one another.

Americans labor 350 more hours - 43 days - more per year than their western European counterparts, leaving precious little time for relationships.

According to Yankelovich Partners, the consumer trends research firm that coined the term "hiving," a turnabout in core values began to bubble up in the early 1990s and then gained steam a few years ago when the stock market plummeted and terrorism hit home. People wanted the comfort of family and friends. The Yankelovich Monitor, which tracks values and lifestyles, reports that 94 percent of respondents say finding more time for people in their lives is important.

Yankelovich found that 64 percent of people prefer their home to feel like a beehive (a safe place abuzz with activity to connect them with others), while only 33 percent wanted a cocoon (a place to protect and seal them off from others). The study also found that two-thirds of Americans find value in being part of a community or group of people with similar interests and lifestyles, such as playing tennis or golf or raising children.

What Developers Can Do

Parker Development's Serrano in El Dorado Hills brings homeowners together with events - summer outdoor concerts, picnics, chili cook offs, Octoberfest grape stomps, hot air balloon festivals and talent showcases. Serrano also invites community groups to use its outdoor amphitheatre for concerts and other events.

Serrano also helps homeowners start up book clubs, bunco groups, "Moms with strollers clubs," walking clubs and several others. According to Shannon, "homeowners are so busy today they just want to be told where and when to show up for a club meeting. They usually don't have time to organize the clubs, so Serrano helps homeowners launch the clubs and get them off the ground."

Parker Development works with the City of Folsom to promote activities on The Parkway's trails, including the 10-K "Run with Nature" as well as a series of nature walks led by naturalists that educate residents on the flora and fauna of the environmentally sensitive community.

Residents of The Parkway have cited the trails as a real plus in living in the planned community, because they not only provide a place to exercise and commune with nature but they also provide a place to connect with neighbors.

"Americans' insatiable need to connect makes the overall community a big part of the buying decision," says Shannon. "About 50 percent of the buying decision is based on location and community amenities, and the other 50 percent on the home itself. People today are buying a lifestyle, not just a home."