Builders across the country are betting on luxury town homes to try to get more young adults into home ownership. Open floor plans, high ceilings, and upgraded amenities are features they hope will lure millennials to buy their first home.

“When a lot of people think of townhouses, they think of these very narrow homes because the floors are stacked on top of one another,” Felix Bravo, a sales executive with Pordes Residential in Miami, told Forbes.com. He is selling town homes up to 3,000 square feet starting at $900,000. “With the amount of space we have, they have a very open feel.” The amenities include a private rooftop terrace with a jacuzzi and outdoor kitchen.

“The wow factor is how much space they have and how luxurious the interior is in terms of appliances, cabinetry, and the kitchen island,” says Bravo. “The second biggest wow factor is being able to go up to your own private rooftop and hop into your private jacuzzi. It makes you feel like you’re worth a million bucks.”

Builders hope that such luxurious  town homes will attract more young adults to consider buying one.

“There are plenty of examples of townhouses being built as luxury homes,” Robert Dietz, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, told Forbes.com. “You’ve got your four-story townhouses, particularly in high-cost metro areas.”

A town home can offer a “suburban-type feel” while also adding in some walkability to a neighborhood—two features that millennials say they desire in a home, Dietz says. Single-family attached townhouses provide a higher density and, therefore, more opportunities for retail and commercial around it that is walkable, Dietz says.

Since 2009, new town home construction has been increasing. Townhouse starts were 24 percent higher in the third quarter of 2018 than the previous four quarters, according to NAHB data. The market share of townhouses is currently at about 14 percent of single-family home construction, which marks a post-recession high.

Dietz predicts over the next five years that the town home market share will continue to rise and reach about 20 percent.

Farmhouse design continues to gain popularity in kitchen remodels, according to the 2019 Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, a survey of more than 1,300 homeowners who are planning or in the midst of a kitchen project.

Eighty-two percent of renovating homeowners this year who are changing the style of their kitchen says they’re making it farmhouse. Farmhouse now nearly ties contemporary in popularity (14 percent versus 15 percent, respectively). Transition—a mix of tradition and modern—still remains the most popular in kitchen design at 21 percent.

“This year’s study illuminates a number of prominent trends in today’s kitchen,” says Nino Sitchinava, Houzz principal economist. “Engineered materials are clearly taking over natural stone in countertops and flooring. Thanks in part to the versatility of these materials, white continues to dominate the kitchen, from cabinets to countertops and walls. Finally, rapid advances in wireless and voice technology are transforming some kitchens into ‘air traffic control’ centers of the home.”

Kitchens aren’t cheap to redo and are about 10 percent more expensive this year, according to the study. The median kitchen renovation cost $11,000, while a major renovation to a large kitchen (more than 200 feet) cost $33,000.

Here are some more kitchen trends that emerged from the Houzz report:

Gray cabinets: White cabinets remain the most common (43 percent), but gray cabinets are winning over more fans. About one in ten homeowners—or 11 percent—chose gray cabinets for their kitchen. Gray cabinets are then often paired with brushed or satin nickel door hardware.

White and quartz countertops: Granite continues to decline in popularity, while engineered quartz is surpassing all of the natural stone materials combined among kitchen remodelers who updated their countertops. White counters are gaining steam, making up nearly one in every three upgraded countertops.

Mixed finishes: More than half of homeowners—54 percent—say they’ve mixed metal finishes across their fixtures and hardware. For those who mix and match, nickel is popular, but many then opt for oil-rubbed bronze or brushed or satin black finish for door hardware and lighting fixtures.

Engineered flooring: Only a quarter of remodelers who updated their flooring chose natural hardwood, marking a significant decline from recent years. Engineered flooring—such as engineered wood, vinyl, and laminate—have become nearly twice as popular in the meantime.

Appliance finish: Stainless steel may still rule, but black stainless is growing more popular as an appliance finish. It is now in one of every 10 upgraded kitchens. Read The New Kitchen Finish: Black Stainless

High-tech add-ons: More than half of upgraded faucets are high-tech, including water efficiency, no-fingerprint coating, and touch-free activation. Other high-tech features in the kitchen include wireless controls in upgraded appliances and home assistants.

Mortgage rates posted more drops this week, lowering the borrowing costs of potential home shoppers and refinancers. Rates are now at a nine-month low, which helped boost mortgage applications more than 20 percent this week.

“Lower mortgage rates combined with continued income growth and lower energy prices are all positive indicators for consumers that should lead to a firming of home sales,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Jan. 10:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.45 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 4.51 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.99 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.89 percent, with an average 0.4 point, dropping from last week’s 3.99 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.44 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.83 percent, with an average 0.3 point, dropping from last week’s 3.98 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.46 percent.

“We’ve seen people take on a lot more than they could deal with,” Joanne Theunissen, the remodeling chair of the National Association of Home Builders, told realtor.com®. “Be cautious. If it looks easy on TV, understand it’s not.”

The project that homeowners say they regret the most attempting themselves is installing floor tiles, particularly in the master bath, according to the survey. Getting ceramic tile level and grouted correctly can be very tricky and require many thorough steps, Theunissen says.

Fifty-five percent of DIYers say their projects took longer to complete than they expected, and more than half said their project was physically more difficult than they anticipated as well. Fifty-five percent of respondents also said their finished project didn’t look as good as they had hoped. About 8 percent of respondents said their homes were damaged because of their DIY attempts.

The top 10 most regretted DIY home improvement projects, according to ImproveNet, are:

1. Installing floor tiles
2. Replacing a ceiling
3. Refinishing hardwood floors
4. Installing carpets
5. Finishing the basement
6. Installing hardwood floors
7. Refinishing cabinetry
8. Installing sprinklers
9. Installing showers and baths
10. Painting home interiors