CHATEAUGUAY, Quebec, Dec. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The last "frontier" of the house for builders to conquer. A way to connect with male homebuyers. The solution to space control in the home. These are just a few of the 2020 garage organizational system trends identified by Eric Letham, president and CEO of Solutions Murales Proslat, Inc.
"Great things happen in garages," says Letham. "Bill Gates started his company in a garage. Undiscovered bands play in garages. Everyday people pass through their garages multiple times. In many ways, the garage is the most mis-understood and under-utilized space in the home.
"Builders who 'tap into' enhancing garage space can make more money. They can bond with their buyers and stand out against their competition."
TREND #1 – Maximizing Home Space
Builders can be heroes. As the size of homes gets smaller, space in those homes becomes more valuable. That includes the garage.
"It's more important than ever for builders to turn garage space into efficient space for the home," says Letham. "The reduction of size in the home makes the garage an even more important part of the 'realty' of the house."
The 2019 "What Home Buyers Really Want" report had almost 4,000 consumers rank 175 home features they believed were essential to their home purchase decisions. Garage storage ranked at 85 percent importance --- tied for fifth place.
Letham suggests that builders who install about $1,000 of PVC slatwall and accessories can easily meet the desire of home buyers for more garage storage. And, at the same time, that investment can increase the home's selling price by several thousand dollars.
"Garage storage solutions are a money-making investment for builders," says Letham.
TREND #2– Connecting with Male Buyers
According to Letham, it's easy to see that the home buying experience is mostly geared to women. Tile selection, kitchen appliances, and faucet design --- it's all about what women want.
So, where do the men fit in and how can builders appeal to them?
"The garage is the only part of the home that is truly 'his' when a couple gets a new home," says Letham. "Builders can either leave that valuable space completely blank or turn it into a money-making room that the male buyer connects with instantly."
To assist men in getting excited and feeling comfortable in the garage space, Letham recommends builders add in storage cabinets, racks, slatwall and lifts.
"Help the man touring the house to really envision himself, his tools, his hobbies and his equipment all filling that garage space," says Letham. "By focusing more on the man involved in the potential home sale, you're getting the guy to have a better feeling about the purchasing process. This will lead him to feel connected to the house."
TREND #3- Garages Get Fit
As 2020 arrives, people need their garages to handle their lifestyle needs.
"People are getting more fit, which means they're exercising more," says Letham. "That means they need bikes, kayaks, golf clubs, skis, or even surfboards. Where do they store these items? In the garage.
"If the garage is not properly outfitted for storage, then people end up with piles of stuff. That creates an unhealthy and unhappy environment.
"By having organizational garage systems, like lifts for kayaks and wall-mounted storage racks for bicycles, homeowners will have a calmer setting and better feeling about using their sports equipment."
TREND #4 – Missing Puzzle Piece Equals Sales
Controlling space inside the home is currently accomplished with designer closets, revolving cabinets and kitchen islands. What about the garage?
Letham advises that builders should start thinking of garage organizational systems as a piece of the puzzle. The completed puzzle equals a home sale. A missing piece of the puzzle can equal losing the sale.
The 2019 Consumer Practices Survey reports that the most popular features of home garage storage systems purchased by homeowners include tool storage, cabinets with shelves and drawers, workbench or countertop, gardening equipment storage and sporting good storage. These products were all purchased after a home sale. Instead, Letham suggests that builders should install these products before the purchase to influence the home sale.
"Think of it this way," says Letham. "There's a difference between coming into a kitchen with dirty dishes everywhere versus a dishwasher full of dirty dishes. Organization. People don't want to walk through or into a messy garage. It makes them feel unsettled and unhappy.
"A builder who uses garage storage systems to eliminate that problem has found the missing piece of the puzzle."
TREND #5 – Differentiating Space
Garage storage systems should be thought of as "functional interior siding" according to Letham.
"For builders to maximize their investments in the home construction process, they need to adopt an attitude that slatwall is an essential building material," says Letham. "Showing is selling. Once a builder walks potential homeowners through a 'ready-to-use' garage, then the homeowners envision themselves in the garage as an extension of the house itself.
"The investment in outfitting the garage will pay off by setting a home apart, making it more memorable, with 'must have' features."
Builders looking to increase their profits can get assistance through the 2020 Proslat Builder Program. Volume discounts, model and parade home programs, direct-to-builder shipping, affiliate program and professional installation support are all now available to production, regional and custom builders throughout North America.
Based in Canada, with a distribution center in Ohio, Proslat manufactures a wide variety of slatwall, cabinets, racks, flooring and lifts for both residential and commercial settings. For more details, visit http://www.proslat.com or call 888-691-2944.
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SOURCE Proslat
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