Housing Study, 50 Years Old, Shows Changes in Preferences
By Bill Primavera
The most interesting aspect of my recent move to a new residence was the discovery of an old footlocker in the attic that had been locked for 45 years and never opened. I had lost the key and had to ask a locksmith to open it.
Its contents, which I had forgotten over the years, were the magazine and newspaper clippings where I had achieved public relations placements in my early career. Most fascinating among those findings were clippings about a major housing study that I was assigned to promote. (Who knew that I was involved in real estate all those years before I became a realtor?)
The study was conducted by the design firm founded by that greatest of all industrial designers, Raymond Loewy. Its objective was to determine the preferences of men and women in choosing housing and the differences between the sexes in what they sought in a home. It was sponsored by a consortium of housing material manufacturers.
The study seems to have had enough impact to warrant significant attention by both The New York Times and Time magazine. In combing through the information provided, I found that much has changed in the last half-century, but some things remained constant.
One of the most comprehensive studies of its type at the time, the national survey involved 2,500 respondents in their homes. For new home prospects, the interviews were conducted before, during and after visits to different types of properties and model homes.
It was the first major study to analyze the difference between men and women in the way they regard homes and housing. It found model homes failed to fulfill the expectations and desires of would-be purchasers, but for different reasons. Women registered greater general disappointment than men, worried that the home would fail to meet their standards in raising children.
Remember, this was 50 years ago, before we had open floor plans. In those days, kitchens were walled off almost as though they were undesirable places. In the ensuing years, kitchens have opened to dining rooms, family rooms and/or playrooms where mothers and children can interact easily.
Men, on the other hand, saw the new dwelling as failing to serve the major masculine needs, identified at that time as ways to express individuality, protection of personal privacy and the display of possessions and the family. Discontent among women was directed at particular rooms and functions – the kitchen, entrance and recreation room – while men reacted to specific features and were more permissive of many general faults.
The findings showed the point of greatest husband-wife agreement occurred at the earliest stages of married life and family formation, while agreement waned significantly as the family matured.
Divergent as their motivations may have been when considering such factors as children, individuality, use of time, investment, possessions and socializing, it was concluded that to buy housing, husbands and wives must come to reasonable agreement about what they want. This agreement, it was found, gave greatest weight to children, privacy and convenience. The concern for children, their health, security, social and educational opportunities, came first with both genders until the children had grown and left home.
Probably the biggest change since the study is the psychology of home buying. At that time, it was believed that women were more practical about housing, while males envisioned a dwelling that may have been less satisfactory than they imagined.
Another area that may have changed was the selection of favorite rooms. Fifty years ago, men were more favorably impressed by the foyer and kitchen, while women were not. At the time, men found that the entrance foyer would transfer a favorable impression as host and homeowner.
There was general agreement between the sexes, however, in the living room and master bedroom/bath combination.
At the time, women associated the kitchen with being more isolated and detached from family and guests, a sort of Siberia, while their preference for the master bedroom was a symbol of marriage security where they could retreat when they wanted to be alone. It was also the room where they saw themselves as “pampered and desirable.”
One of the not-so-startling conclusions of the study was that the purchase of a house was seen as a matriarchal move. When the husband decided to buy a house, the study noted, it was probably for the sake of his wife and children.
Probably the biggest change has been favorite rooms. Surely, the kitchen many times “sells” today’s home, particularly for women. As for men, they have fared pretty well in having their own space for individuality when you consider that the term “man cave” wasn’t in the discussion a half-century ago.
Bill Primavera is a Realtor® associated with William Raveis Real Estate and Founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc. (www.PrimaveraPR.com). His real estate site is www.PrimaveraRealEstate.com, and his blog is www.TheHomeGuru.com. To engage the services of The Home Guru to market your home for sale, call 914-52
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