Learning which urban real estate trends are currently popular can help you gain an insight on which ones will stand the test of time, so to speak. This is important because as a home buyer, you'd want to make sure that when you sell the house, it would not appear as though the design is dated, and that it would still be appealing to potential buyers years from now. Too often, people buy something that looks hip and cool these days only to find out that it's not appealing to majority of home buyers in five years.
As you search homes for sale, you'll find that there are a lot of houses which will look like something representative of its time. You'll wonder why some real estate properties have homes that look classic, and some that look gaudy. As far as urban properties are concerned, recently trends have been showing that a lot of people are preferring to pay the premium if it means living near the city. For most people, this is because city properties are located near their houses, restaurants, malls, and other convenient spots.
As far as design goes, modern urban real estate properties show an edgy but functional twist. Builders and designers are going for more simple and clean lines rather than putting a lot of attention to simple details like what old houses are known for. Accents such as carvings aren't usually built into the homes anymore. Modern houses offset clean lines with creative lighting. Concealed accent lights as well as creative lighting fixtures help make modern architecture more flexible. After all, it's easier to change the look of a house if you're mostly just going to change the cosmetics and accessories.
Since urban homes are a lot more restrictive in space than their suburban counterparts, a lot of features in the house are made to accommodate the needs in a relatively limited space. Multipurpose dividers, enclaves to get some appliances out of the way (shallow spaces to accommodate TVs, microwaves, etc) help maximize space.
Green building is also becoming very popular. Buying a house that is energy efficient and built using green materials will probably matter a lot in the near future when more people are becoming aware of the benefits of green building. Not to mention that you will live in a less toxic environment, with house features that helps you save energy.
With a lot of people these days opting for a fast-paced lifestyle, it's also noticeable that kitchens are becoming less spacious but more functional. A lot more space in modern houses are being devoted to the baths as well as closet spaces and family or entertainment rooms.
Since this is the time when most baby boomers are already facing an empty nest (or have been facing them for several years), they tend to gravitate towards houses with smaller spaces and are closer to other establishments. Thus, this could be one consideration to make when picking a house to buy in the city.