The real estate industry is ever-changing. As the world progresses toward a new way to look at home ownership, the trends that will pick up speed in the years ahead pull focus to the current economic and environmental landscape future buyers face today. From rising house prices, climate change advocacy, and increasing numbers of older adult family members, here are the five real estate trends to watch in 2024 and beyond.

Smart Homes

Today's digital lifestyle will transfer into the real estate industry in a big way this year. People will put more stock into smart homes that can help you connect and control certain things, such as locks, lighting, and HVAC systems.

People want to feel as though they can tap into anything at the touch of a button, and with more and more smart home systems being integrated into properties, well-equipped properties will shoot to the top of everyone’s list.

Sustainable Buildings  

Younger generations are huge on sustainability and care for the state of the environment to a much larger degree than the generations that came before them. Because of that, sustainable buildings will be all the rage in 2024 and the years that follow. Buyers will now look for homes with the best possible energy efficiency to help them lower their carbon footprint.

Certain community aspects of sustainable buildings, such as shared community gardens and rooftop decks, are also increasing in popularity, making the sustainability craze that much more desirable in 2024.

Virtual Real Estate

Buyers and sellers will be looking more toward virtual real estate and digitally enhanced homes to create a buying and selling experience for the modern age. Virtual tours that allow people to walk through entire properties from the comfort of their current homes will take the place of the time-consuming process of scheduled showings.

Augmented reality and other programs will also allow people to digitally input their own furniture into a home to see how things fit and look, giving people more control over the home-buying process. Even signing documents, such as offers, can be done digitally—and that will likely become the norm as time goes on.

Alternative Housing

Many adults fail to meet threshold of affordability when it comes to the rising housing costs and mortgage interest rates. To combat that, people are beginning to look more toward alternative housing units that provide all the amenities they need at a lower price point.

Properties such as condos, prefab and modular homes, and tiny houses are much more affordable than single-family detached homes and provide a lower environmental impact. They also offer uniqueness and more flexibility when creating personalized spaces. Because of the three-birds-with-one-stone result these properties offer, younger buyers will primarily look toward these options first.

Multi-Family Housing

Multi-generational homes have been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, and demand isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon. With the rising costs and aging population, living with family in a multi-unit home has become a desirable trend that will likely stick around for the foreseeable future.

Knowing what trends are taking place in the real estate industry is a great way to stay on top of things so that when you go to buy or sell, you know what the market is like and how to work it to your advantage.