Downsizing: Why New Homes Make Sense

Downsizing isn’t about making life smaller. It’s about finding a home that fits your needs so you can focus your energy on what matters most. If you’ve decided it’s time to downsize (or right-size), here are strategies to make it an easy switch. Empty nesters are one of the largest groups who buy new IDEAL homes for these reasons.

Why do many empty nesters choose new construction when downsizing?

New construction homes offer predictable maintenance costs, modern one-story floorplans, energy efficiency, and the ability to plan for aging in place. For many downsizers, building or buying a new home provides peace of mind and long-term flexibility that older homes can’t match.

Maintenance Matters When Downsizing

To better understand why so many buyers choose new construction homes when downsizing, we spoke with several Ideal new home consultants and lending partners about the advantages that a new Ideal home offers over pre-owned homes.

“I’ve worked with many customers who’ve decided to downsize because once their kids were grown, their house simply became too much to clean and maintain,” said Ideal Senior New Home Consultant Jennifer Johnson.

It’s not just the size of empty nesters’ homes that’s the problem, it’s the ongoing maintenance that comes with owning an older home. The 20-year-oId dishwasher finally gives out, the siding needs to be repainted, and the AC works fine…except when the temperature spikes. 

With a pre-owned home, you might get a deal on the purchase price, but you might also spend a great deal of time, money, and energy on unplanned updates and repairs. A new home doesn’t have those issues. Everything is fresh. Everything works. Everything is under warranty.

The Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods warranty is one of the most trusted new home warranties in the industry.

Peace of Mind Through Comprehensive Warranties

Ideal homes are built to last with a high expectation of quality. Because of the confidence we have in our homes, we provide one of the most comprehensive in-house warranty programs in the country for new construction homes. 

These three overlapping warranties give you peace of mind now and into the future. (Because we know your social calendar is full!)

• 1-Year Builder Warranty: Covers workmanship and material-related concerns that may appear as a new home settles, such as drywall cracks, door or cabinet adjustments, or other concerns that come up. We’re here to help. We even have an after-hours number in case there's a warranty emergency at night or on the weekends.
• 2-Year Major Systems Warranty: This warranty protects the systems that keep your home running smoothly, like the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems.
• 10-Year Structural Warranty: This fully transferable warranty covers the foundation, framing, and other structural components of your new Ideal home. This warranty is extremely important with Oklahoma's shifting soil. Not only do we build one of the strongest and most structurally sound foundations, but we also warranty that work for 10 years.

Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods is a local Oklahoma builder with more than 30 years of experience building new homes in Oklahoma. From the extreme weather to the clay soil, we understand Oklahoma's unique challenges and engineer every home to exceed building code requirements.

Learn more about the exceptional Ideal Homes and Neighborhoods new home warranty program here.

Predictable Energy Bills

HVAC systems that haven't been properly maintained, insufficient insulation, and inefficient HVAC systems in pre-owned homes can mean surprisingly high gas and electricity bills (and HVAC replacement costs). Those surprises can wreak havoc on your budget. 

New construction changes that equation entirely.

Ideal Homes &Neighborhoods is an industry leader in energy-efficient residential construction. We’re so committed to high standards that we put our money where our mouth is - which no other builder in Oklahoma does. Ideal is the only Oklahoma homebuilder to offer Energy Advantage Certified homes with guaranteed heating and cooling costs. 

Here's what that means: An independent, third-party tests every new home to gauge its heating and cooling usage. These aren't guesses. They're verified estimates based on actual testing of your specific home. If you exceed those estimates during the first three years, you'll get reimbursed for the difference.

In other words: predictable costs. 

Learn more about the Energy Advantage Program here.

Learn more about HERS® Scores and the process we use to estimate your heating and cooling costs here.

The Right Floorplan… Now and The Future

A new-construction home gives you the chance to make important design decisions during the building process. While you might think these decisions revolve around color palettes and lighting styles, our designers can help you make other meaningful modifications to your new Ideal home. When working with the Ideal Design Studio, you can customize a home that will meet your needs now and in the future more than any other builder of our kind in Oklahoma.

Aging in place is an important consideration when buying a new home and Ideal has options and expertise that other new home builders don't have.

One-Story Floor Plans

When it comes to floor plans for aging in place, the most important consideration is a home without stairs. Thanks to more than 35 IDEAL floor plans and customizable options, you can build a home that has everything you need on one level, without sacrificing open living spaces, natural light, or design flexibility. 

Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods can also modify many floor plans to have an entry ramp instead of steps. 

The team at our Ideal Design Studio has the expertise to help you make informed choices that will support accessibility needs now and later. Subtle changes can make your home ready for the long term without sacrificing style. These can include: 

• zero-threshold entry showers
• ILO (lever-style) door handles instead of traditional knobs
• flooring with limited transitions to minimize tripping hazards
• widened doorways when possible
• bathroom grab bars that match the fixtures

You can read more about using the design process to personalize your new home for accessibility here.

Smart Storage

Part of what makes a home ideal is ample storage, especially when downsizing from a larger space. Ideal homes are built with generously sized closets that include built-in organization.

Community Amenities For Your Full Life

Ideal neighborhoods are an extention of your home because we believe that where you live should feel like a connected community. That’s why we begin every new Ideal neighborhood by planning its community spaces before any homes are ever designed. We strive for every home to have easy access to at least one neighborhood amenity. You might see other neighborhoods where walking trails are placed far away from homes or playgrounds are an afterthought.

But Ideal neighborhoods give you a sense of peace and calm when you drive into your community. You see your neighbors walking on the trails or enjoying the playground. You get to make friends fishing in the ponds or kicking a soccer ball. Neighborhood amenities give you the benefits of space without the burden of ownership and maintenance. 

Walking trails

Most Ideal neighborhoods include walking trails that make it easy to stay active close to home. These trails offer a simple way to enjoy fresh air, keep active, and stay connected to your neighborhood. Our homeowners are often seen out in the evenings and weekends enjoying the community together.

Fun for the grandkids

“We hear from many downsizing homebuyers that they don’t want the maintenance of their own pool anymore or that giant swingset, but when the grandchildren come over, they want to have options for them,” said Jennifer.

Many Ideal neighborhoods include playgrounds, stocked catch-and-release fishing ponds, splashpads, or community pools. These amenities mean fun outings without the maintenance, upkeep, and hassle. (While still being everyone’s favorite grandparent!)

Your Next Chapter Starts Here

After decades of maintaining a family home, you get to spend your time however you choose. And we’re guessing that you probably wouldn’t put emergency repairs and maintenance projects on that list!

A new Ideal home gives you that freedom.

Whether you're downsizing in Norman, Edmond, Oklahoma City, Yukon, or Mustang, we'd love to help you explore floor plans that fit this stage of life perfectly.