Move Over, Mom & Dad: Newest Real Estate Trend Aims To Please Kids
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Forget about curb appeal. The newest trend in real estate is "kid appeal."
CBS2's Jessica Moore met a Manhattan home designer who knows how to target home buyers – not the ones writing the checks.
Nestled inside an $11.5 million Brooklyn Heights town home sits an unassuming superstar.
"This is a little east tepee," says Britt Zunino, with Studio DB. "It's definitely a highlight and it's great because it also gives parents the opportunity to walk through the house while their kids are playing."
Real estate agents and home designers like Zunino are appealing to the smallest members of a home buying family, who often have the loudest voices.
"They are little New Yorkers through and through," she says. "The kids are very vocal about what they like and what they don't like, and they pick out their rooms. It's very interesting."
Tepees are just the tip of the iceberg. What about a floor-through slide or removable swings suspended through the ceiling? What kid wouldn't want these?
"I think it's actually very effective," Zunino says. "I think kids weigh in a lot on family issues and decisions now, so their contribution means a lot and parents really respect that and value that."
Moore decided to take her theory out for a test drive.
Laris Mendel said he would be more likely to buy a house that his daughter fell in love with.
"Probably the biggest thing for me would be school district and where you're at for them to get to school, church, stuff like that," said Mitch Thompson, of Waco, Texas. He added "it doesn't hurt" if his kids like the house.
"Buying a new house is like love at first sight. And it's very important for kids to feel good in the house," said Jean Philippe Leoni, of Leon France. "Tents are only decorations."
Sometimes the way to a home buyer's heart is in fact through their kids.
One potential home buyer now refers to the property as the tepee house. And it looks like they may end up making it their new home.