Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series on real estate market trends in Western Pennsylvania.

The pandemic may have ended, but its impact on how people live — and buy homes — hasn’t.

Real estate agents say the once-coveted “open concept” is not as popular as buyers reshape their homes around post-covid lifestyles.

In a Murrysville home with 1970s bones and a modern kitchen, Realtor Elaine Yarabinetz sees the story of post-pandemic home trends taking shape: less open space, more privacy and a growing desire for homes that can serve as both sanctuary and workspace.

Located in the town’s Heather Highlands neighborhood, the house that Yarabinetz expects to go on the market in the spring is a good mix of what she recommends and what homebuyers are seeking. It was built in the 1970s but has several modern updates in areas like the kitchen. It doesn’t look like a 1970s house on the inside.

“Some people want a little more privacy now, especially with people working from home more consistently,” Yarabinetz said. “An open concept doesn’t always work for that. But there’s a big variety in what people are looking for.”

Janet Ryan, owner at Century 21 in Lower Burrell, said she’s seen more people looking for homes in rural areas since the pandemic.

“They’re looking for a home where they can enjoy more greenery, as opposed to living downtown,” Ryan said. “And secondly, a lot of buyers are looking for a four-bedroom home so they can use one or two of the extra bedrooms for office space. People don’t seem to be as concerned with where their house is in relation to their job.”

Ryan said as a result, she’s seen a lot of agents representing buyers from Pittsburgh neighborhoods who are looking for a home beyond the first-ring suburbs of the city.

Bob Schuster, who has owned and operated Schuster Homes in Irwin for the past 35 years, said he has seen a few changes in the way homes have been built over the past few years.

“Everybody used to build a four-bedroom house with a living room and a dining room,” Schuster said. “Now the living rooms and dining rooms are just about gone. The four-bedroom homes were needed because there were more kids. Now three bedrooms seem to work fine, and instead of a dining room, a lot of people will put a den in.”

Working from home is not an option for Amanda Evers and her husband, who moved their family into a new home in July. They’ve lived in Penn Township for the past eight years and found a single-family home there.

“We were kind of outgrowing the townhouse we lived in,” Evers said. “Our biggest need was more space, and being able to stay in the Penn-Trafford School District.”

But they weren’t angling for a house with potential office space. During the family’s home search over the past two years, Evers said, they made several offers but were frequently outbid, once by as much as $30,000 over the home’s asking price.

“Now we have kind of the opposite problem with our townhouse,” she said. “Right around the time we started listing it, things began to slow down. Our old house has been sitting on the market now for about 60 days, which we didn’t think would ever happen.”

Colleen Ruefle-Haley, vice president at Suncrest Homes in Murrysville, said the massive impact that the covid pandemic had on everyday life also extended to the homes people wanted.

“People really wanted their own home office, and we still see that a lot,” Ruefle-Haley said. “Outdoor living at home has also become a really big thing. We got a tremendous amount of calls to create outside living space, and I think that’s held over from covid as well. People didn’t want to go to a public park, but they wanted an outdoor fireplace, a sun room, a screened enclosure.”

Starting in 2021 and 2022, Ruefle-Haley said, Suncrest began building those types of features into its model homes.

“We started building larger decks, a roof over the porch,” she said. “We’re located in Murrysville, and we started a community on Sardis Road, The Acres, with large lot sizes, a minimum of two acres, and they go all the way up to seven acres. Some of those clients came to us during covid and what we built is the result of that.”

Ruefle-Haley said one of Suncrest’s landscaping partners has largely transitioned to become a pool installer.

“It’s almost all a response to what we saw in the years starting with covid,” she said.

Yarabinetz said the desirable features in a home largely depend on the buyers.

“I’ve seen younger buyers who are more interested in things looking pretty and finished, even if it’s not always in the best-built home,” she said. “I look for a house with ‘good bones’ and tell buyers that a house may need a little work, but you’re not going to have the kind of larger infrastructure issues that can really cost money. Some younger people don’t want to do that, and homes that look good are moving a little more quickly.”

Both Yarabinetz and Ryan said the Pittsburgh area has not seen a lot of new home construction compared with other parts of the country.

The trend Yarabinetz said she’s seen most frequently the past couple of years has nothing to do with a home’s physical attributes.

“I think the biggest shift is that houses are sitting on the market a little longer,” she said. “Things are more balanced, and sellers and buyers are on a little more of an even playing field. Buyers have a little more negotiating power because sellers just aren’t going to get that ‘covid price’ anymore.”

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