Dream House: House Plan Industry

House Plan Industry

A dream house, everyone’s dream. Who does not think about the house of his dreams, everyone does. The past few decades have been the biggest witness of the technological advancement in each sector with a significant change in house plan industry too. Considering the changing trends globally regarding house plans, now there are many websites that have started working digitally and exclusively in the field of developing house plans. Housing styles are emerging day by day with a wider interest in the living standard and changing the concept of life.

Earlier, people used to buy blueprints from the designated planners which were mainly associated with the architectures and builders. The range of Millennials purchasing homes and their house plans, needs and desires are very wide. They are also seeking out authentic lifestyles and space that functions well for social gatherings, cooking, entertainment and hobbies. They also really value their communities for the opportunity for social and cultural interactions. Keeping all of these factors in mind will help builders in the long run when Millennials start making a dramatic impact on the housing market.

The trends have changed significantly over the years. Houses have grown in size and cost. At the beginning of the last century, the average home was 700 to 1200 square feet. In 1950, the average home was 1000 square feet growing to an average size of 2000 square feet in 2000. Costs in 1900 were about $5,000, $11,000 in 1950 and $200,000 in 2000. Costs in 1900 were about $5,000, $11,000 in 1950 and $200,000 last year.

Major Trends in House Plan Industry Globally:

Off-the-shelf Plans: House plan industry offer myriad blueprints to modify for the site, code, budget, and climate conditions, says James Roche, whose Houseplans.com firm has 40,000 choices. There are lots of companies to consider, but the best bets are ones that are updating layouts for today’s wish lists—open-plan living, multiple master suites, greater energy efficiency, and smaller footprints for downsizers. Many builders will accept these outsiders’ plans, though they may charge to adapt them.

Top Trends in the house plan industry are as follows:

  • Country Chic: Country home plans was on trend and very popular in 2016, with people trying to capture the quaint feeling of country life, even in urban environments. Watch the new designs for the classic country roofline, attractive dormers and, of course, front porches to capture the country chic design.
  • Big Kitchens: Some of the most popular house plans for 2016 are those that feature big kitchens. The larger the kitchen, the better it can accommodate the latest appliances and other gadgets — as well as the demands of busy families and inspirational cooks.

Big Kitchen

  • Continued Focus on Great Rooms: Many modern homes no longer have living rooms. Instead, today’s ideal home layout is built around the ‘great room’, which puts the kitchen, family room, and sometimes even the dining area into one large open space.
  • Textured surfaces: Textures inside and outside the home. Mixing stone and siding on the exterior. And inside, instead of smooth surfaces on counter tops and cabinets, look for natural stone and textured woods.
  • Indoor/ Outdoor Living: Outdoor living spaces that merge seamlessly with the indoor living space will likely be widely sought. Screened in porches that connect to main rooms of the home and outdoor living space is one way that designs can integrate this trend.
  • Small Homes: People are looking to buy smaller homes without sacrificing quality of life. Cottage and other small floor plans that provide adequate living areas on a smaller scale are expected to be popular house plans.
  • Increased Luxury of Master Baths: The master bath is looking for a spa-like appearance. Look for soaking tubs, walk-in-showers, his and her sinks and plenty of closet space.

Luxury of Master Baths

  • Mid-century Modern Detailing: Home designs, especially in Nevada and California, are starting to incorporate mid-century modern details again. It’s a trend in production housing that is more contemporary. However, mid-century detailing is very unusual and it needs to be done right, and so many more options available for a one’s perfect dream house.

 

 

Opportunity for Architectures & Customers in House Plan Industry:

Since 2004, Houseplan.com has featured more than 40,000 plans across two dozen categories. The range varies from Beach house and bungalow to Tudor and Victorian. Since its inception, around 100,000 houses have been built using the blueprints from its website. Other companies of the house plan industry are: ePlans.com, HomePlans.com, FloorPlans.com and DreamHomeSource.com, WesthomePlanners.com, ThePlanCollection, TheHouseDesigners, DrummondHousePlans.com,  BuidlerHousePlans.com, etc.

These are the websites in the house plan industry that provide an opportunity for architects to connect with the customers and buyers directly. Instead of having a single architect to design a house plan, these websites provide connection to several architects and a buyer can select from any. These websites are like a market of architects all at one place. Globally, there are so many websites that are working on this concept. This way customers can select any specific architect to design their house plan or contact them directly through the information provided on the website.

Another website that is working as the leading one in house plan industry is Homeplans.com. There are around 200 designers on this website which provide them with house plans that can be then bought by customers.  Another popular website is freelancer.com through which many designers and architects work with the customers directly based on their requirements.

2000+ Designs

Major Competition for House Plan Industry Designers:

For buyers, the major question is whether they need to buy house plans or just hire an architecture who will design the floor plan accordingly. Here are the major concerns among the buyers:

  • Benefits of Buying House Plans: If a customer types ‘buy house plans’ in the google search, they get thousands of options. There are different websites in the house plan industry providing such services are dreamhomesource.com, eplans etc; which offer intriguing designs, various pricing levels, and many a time homes are designed by some of North America’s best designers and architects including Frank Betz, Donald Gardner and much more. These sites help to narrow down the choices by asking several filter questions in the beginning. Some websites such as houseplans.com also offer to customize the floor plan by saving elements from different plans.
  • Concerns of Buyers: Some buyers need a highly custom made home and for them, this option could not be the right one. However, if in addition personal designs are given to them based on their requirements, there could be an increased market for the house plans.
  • Another Option for House Plans: Hire an architect, an architect helps in getting the floor plan which is customised according to the needs of the buyer. Buyers still prefer taking architect’s advice on floor plans before finalising. Also, architects are preferred since they can start from the first blueprint of the house to the final key of the house.
  • Cost concerns: Hiring an architect is generally costlier as compared to buying a house plan online and modifying it. Thus, many people have now started buying plans online and then customising them according to their needs by taking elements from different homes. Also, many websites give an option of customising the home according to the location of the final home.
  • Major competition: Many architectures and interior designers sell the full designing services to the clients that start from the house plan and covers the mechanical and electrical installation, interior designing, plumbing, handling legal codes etc. This makes it easier for the buyers to hand over all the tasks to these full-service designers. These are the biggest competitors of online house plan industry designers. However, the house plans can be sold to architects which can bring them into use for their buyers.

Country Wise Market of House Plan Industry:

USA:

This model is most popular and profitable in the USA, however, it has been originated in other regions as well. Many small companies have entered into this business but none has so far made a big profit out of it except for some names in USA market.

India:

In India, there are several websites which are now selling ready house plans. The market of house plan industry is comparatively better in India even if it is a developing nation. Some of the notable websites are gharplanner.com, indianhomedesign.com, homeplansindia.comnakshewala.com, apnaghar.co.in, etc. However, still, a majority of the house plans are bought from the architectures in the country. They have physical stores which build the customised house plans and provide the blueprint to the customers.

China:

The trend of house plan industry has not taken much in China for ready house plans since most of the work is carried out by architectures themselves. These design can be bought from Alibaba, Aliexpress. It was found that most of the house plans are sold through Alibaba, which is one of the most popular online marketplaces in China. No dedicated website was found.

Europe:

No particularly famous website was found in the European Union which is working on house plan industry.

Australia:

Ready house plans is a big market in Australia as well. Some of the noted names of websites selling ready house plans are iwantthatdesign.com.au, greenhomesaustralia.com.au, clarendon.com.au, creativespaceaustralia.com.au, dixonhomes.com.au, ourhomedesign.com.au, etc. One of the most popular house plan industry’s website is Dixonhomes.com.au. It has over 2000 house designs ready on its website.

Clients of House Plan Industry:

  • Direct Customers: The buyers who look for building homes for themselves. Many times, they are on a limited budget and this option suits them best. These buyers first look through the websites and find a most suitable plan and then with the help of a local engineer or architect get it modified accordingly.
  • Multiple Family Residential Builders: These builders buy these plans more often since they try to save money from every end. They avoid spending hefty amounts on architects and buy an already designed plan at small prices according to which they build several homes which are then sold as flats.
  • Municipality Residential Areas: In some of the regions, municipality gets the residential areas built up. The municipality officials also look for a suitable house plan online based on which they can build several houses in an area.
  • Architects: Many architects buy this house plans online for their customers. However, there are constraints that they can’t work on it as their own plan.

Ways to Buy House Plans:

  • Online Websites: As has been discussed above house plans are sold through online websites at much lesser prices.
  • Full-Service Interior Designers: These interior designers have collaboration with architects and they provide house plans to their customers along with the house designing service.
  • Architects: Many architects sell their house plans directly to the customers and some have their own websites as well. These architects mostly work in local regions and they provide customised solutions to the customer based on their own requirements.
  • Online Marketplace: There are some websites which work as a market place for architects and customers. They showcase the work of several architects and customers can buy from any based on their requirements.

Success Rate of the House Plan Industry’s Business Model:

As has been researched and studied, it has been observed that this business is moderately successful. There are different factors that are linked to making such a business model successful. Even if it is successful, the rate of growth is expected to grow moderately only. One of the major constraints of successful business in online house plans is of customisation. Not all the online websites can provide modifications according to the land and climate of the actual site. Also, a house plan can’t be modified without the permission of designer of the plan. A design needs to be certified as well. This makes the whole process tedious and less trustworthy for many buyers. However, since the prices are comparatively very cheap, millennials are looking forward to these websites for house plans.

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