How people live is continuing to evolve and the evolving needs of buyers is transforming how builders need to design and build their homes to meet these expectations. Innovation is no longer an aspirational buzzword, but something that should be more integrated into operating models.
During “The Blueprint: How Innovation-Driven Design & Construction Is Reimagining Attainable Housing” at the 2026 International Builders Show (IBS) in Orlando, panelists shared how attainability is being redefined through innovation and how the industry is embracing these solutions.
Designing What Buyers Want
Teri Slavik-Tsuyuki, founder of tst ink, shared consumer insights highlighting how buyer preferences are shifting. Understanding these shifts is essential for builders and designers to address buyer needs with appropriate innovations.
“Consumers are moving ‘selfward,” Slavik-Tsuyuki said. “In this age of disruption that is our new norm, we are moving ‘selfward.’ How does the home support us and do all the things we need it to do to live a better, healthier life?”
Consumers increasingly are closely aligning homes with safety and comfort. Health, wellness, and energy efficiency are becoming more important than extra space, a fourth bedroom, or expansive luxury spaces. Functionally, buyers are more willing to trade space for comfort and efficiency, prioritizing instead functional gathering spaces like kitchens and homes that promote indoor-outdoor living.
“It’s not about more space,” said Jaime Matheron, principal and senior architect at DAHLIN. “It’s about designing differently and creating meaningful spaces so that people can find an attainable home and the sense of belonging that they are longing for.”
Slavik-Tsuyuki shared that wellness is becoming a more important motivator for buyers than even cost savings. She said the industry needs to strike a balance between building performance and human wellbeing. The two are no longer silos, but instead must work in tandem to deliver attainable, quality solutions for buyers.
“Real estate is no longer neutral,” Slavik-Tsuyuki said. “What we do either helps or harms human wellbeing. Eighty percent of our health outcomes are based on the built environment.”
Sustainability as Innovation
Lucienne Pears, vice president of economic and business development at Kitson & Partners/Babcock Ranch, highlighted the commitment to sustainability at Babcock Ranch, the first solar-powered town in the United States. Pears noted that when Hurricane Ian hit Florida in 2022, responsible for over 150 direct and indirect deaths and $112 billion in damage, roughly 5,000 Babcock Ranch residents were able to shelter in place and maintain electricity while the community was relatively unscathed. The story illustrated the role sustainability and resilience can play in innovation.
“The concept of sustainability isn’t just about protecting trees, it’s about mental sustainability, financial sustainability, and emotional sustainability,” Pears said. “With climate resilience, the power is not going to go out, you are not going to have a disruption to water supply, and your internet will stay on. When you think of any climate event, the after-event implications [are usually] significant.”
A well-built, sustainable home can provide physical resilience in addition to the benefits of solar power and energy efficiency.
“The nuance is that sustainability might be the feature, but resiliency and how your life is less impacted is the benefit,” Slavik-Tsuyuki added. “When you start to talk about it with the market and customers, focus on benefits versus features.”
Innovation, Affordability, and Comfort with Failure
Brad Conlon, senior vice president of business development at D.R. Horton, grounded the conversation about innovation with his focus on affordability. For all the benefits that solutions may be able to offer, he emphasized the importance balancing innovative approaches, proven cost structures, and low cycle times.
“The problem today is that the majority of wellness category solutions are not affordable. The biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity is how we meet those needs and still deliver a home at a price point that people can afford,” Conlon said. “Part of sustainability is also affordability. If it is not affordable, it is not sustainable. People should not go ‘house broke’ to have the type of home with the features they want.”
A potential solution is finding efficiencies and “offsets” elsewhere in the build cycle to accommodate for the larger price tags of high value-add solutions.
“Take solar as an example. We are about as low [cost] as we are going to get,” Conlon said. “How can we get to a place where we find other offsets to afford solar?”
Jeremy Gilstrap’s Simpson Strong-Tie is in a constant state of innovating, striving to provide the next product that can solve pain points that builders and contractors are experiencing on a daily basis. While the allure of innovation is promising, the executive vice president of innovation for Simpson Strong-Tie reminded attendees that it is often a long journey.
“If you are involved in innovation, failure had better be something you are comfortable with,” Gilstrap said. “We are all going to swing for the fences and are going to miss.”
