Boston is behind the curve when it comes to housing design, and we need to cater to 55+ - by David O'Sullivan

David O'Sullivan, O'Sullivan Architects

The weather is cold and it looks like we may have a winter in New England. Everyone at this time of year to doing projections for business and looking at goals for the year ahead. I am sitting in Las Vegas, far away from the cold winter. Why am I in Las Vegas you ask, disappointed I did not win Powerball and trying my luck there? Taking an escape to play golf and see some shows? No, I am attending the National Assn. of Home Builders (NAHB) 2016 International Builder’s Show.

The International Builder’s Show is an annual event put on by the NAHB where they assemble education sessions, networking events, awards ceremonies and a huge trade show. The amount of things to learn is overwhelming with economic forecasts, design trends, demographic projections, code update and new products.

The economic forecast was put forth as cautious but optimistic with continued growth but nothing robust. They mention the unknowns of Chinese economy and the slowing of exports as a concern but sight improvement in jobs, wages and new businesses as all good things for the U.S. in general. They did have some concerns over oil prices and how it is a double edged sword, help consumers and business with lower fuel costs but hurting the economy with less investment in industry and exploration. It is not a good time to be in an oil producing state. The good thing is it is a great time to be in Boston. Many colleagues have come to me for other regions and said they wish there area was as booming as Massachusetts.

Speaking to colleagues from different parts of the country is a great benefit on attending this show. The architects from throughout the country can give a good indication of the health of the real estate markets. We are the first to get busy with new projects, often before they are public knowledge. Almost all are busy with some seeing such growth that they cannot keep up with client’s demands. Employment growth is finally hitting the design and construction industry and the days of labor shortages are back in most major markets. New projects are being designed and development has rebounded, but still not to pre-recession levels.

Another thing you realize when attending is all the efforts the NAHB puts into fighting over regulation, unfair tax issues, and onerous code provisions. All these add to the cost of doing business and make housing more expensive for everyone. Housing is the number one biggest cost for households and as that increases it leaves less to spend on other things, hurting our economic growth.

The other thing you realize by attending is the huge amount of resources NAHB and its partners have available on demographics, design trends, regulations etc. I gave a press conference to the National Association of Real Estate writers on design trends in housing amassed by the judges of the Best in American Living Awards. I also attended a session on demographics and trends researched jointly with AARP on 55+ housing industry. Let me tell you Boston is behind the curve when it comes to housing design and we all need to research and cater to the 55+ year old demographic as it makes up the majority of the population. Other sessions on transit oriented design, catering to the up and coming (from a home buying perspective) millennium generation or achieving better energy efficiency were all valuable.

So as I wrap up a few busy days here in Las Vegas I have a positive outlook on our industry and realize how important knowledge is to being successful in the real estate industry.

David O’Sullivan is president of O’Sullivan Architects, Reading, Mass.