Idea: Smaller as better? May 28, 09

A line in this interview with Alex Bogusky caught my eye:

“I’m always surprised by how wealthy people gravitate to huge homes. Who wants to walk a half block to get a midnight snack? But smaller alone isn’t really the whole story. Smaller and higher quality is really the opportunity.

This is something I often think about when I drive by high-end homes… outside of major cities, it seems like bigger is the only option available for non-retirees. What if builders offered smaller homes with better features?

Offerings I can think of off the top of my head:

• Higher-quality building materials
• Pre-configured wireless network (with or without tech support)
• Home wind turbines and solar systems
• Include a car, maybe a Hybrid in an exclusive model or color
• Include bikes, Segways, or other low-impact modes of transportation for quick errands near the neighborhood
• Neighborhood services like chefs, nutritionists, personal trainers or pet sitters

Ultimately, I think the offerings would need to appeal to self-interest and sense of status to be successful. Green features and community enhancement sound good on a list, but my cynical side isn’t sure they would translate into big business.

What do you think—is there an opportunity here?

This has been the second in a series of random product/service/whatever ideas that pop into my head… ideas that I think are viable from a business and/or usage standpoint, but probably don’t have the time/desire/resources to implement.