Gone are the days of the McMansions. In the current economy, bigger doesn’t necessarily equal better. Smaller homes are making a comeback, but discerning buyers haven’t sacrificed quality for quantity. What today’s best-selling homes may lack in square footage, they make up for in amenities, value and green accoutrements.

Lindsay Fletcher, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association, says, “The biggest push—and something reflected in private homes—is green building. Builders have really upped the ante, and there are more and more homes being offered that are LEED certified.” According to Fletcher, buyers are going green to conserve money as well as energy. “It’s more practical,” she says. “People are choosing green carpet, green flooring, you name it. They’re looking at energy saving and water saving.”

This trend is reflected across the country, says Stephanie Singer, Senior Public Affairs Associate for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). “Many of today’s consumers want homes and communities that are sensitive to the larger environment, and our members are seeing a growing demand from consumers in that area,” she says. According to the 2008 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, “Ninety percent of recent home buyers thought energy efficiency was a very important consideration when searching for a home. In addition, buyers who placed a priority on energy efficiency were also more likely to value other environment-friendly features, such as proximity to parks and public transportation, and existence of sidewalks in the neighborhood,” says Singer.

This trend is reflected in the success of Logan Homes, a company that has built homes along the North Carolina coast for the past 20 years in several best-selling communities, including Waterford of the Carolinas, St. James Plantation, River Landing, Wedgewood at Lanvale, Winding River Plantation, Palmetto Creek of the Carolinas and Compass Pointe . “All of our house plans are somewhat similar—patio, ranch style, brick homes. And all of our homes are 2,000 to 2,400 square feet. That type of house does well in a market like this. People are looking for value and quality, and our cost per square foot is incomparable,” says Kelly Doherty, Sales and Marketing Administrator for Logan. “For us, our homes have been consistent products every time. People are paying more attention to cost and value, and they’re really concerned with getting the best bang for their buck right now.”

Logan Homes’ brand-new community Compass Pointe, located just 10 minutes from downtown Wilmington and convenient to area beaches, is a perfect example of the type of development that is succeeding in today’s market. Compass Pointe boasts homesites beginning in the low $70s and townhomes starting in the $160s, as well as custom homes from the $200s. In addition to affordable pricing, the community will offer a phenomenal array of resort-style amenities—including gaming rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, golf courses, bike trails, dog parks, a river club, an amphitheatre, two amenity centers, tennis courts and much more. “With a lot of amenities and great prices, Compass Pointe has acquired the most interest of all of our communities,” says Doherty.

Reed Development Company has also discovered the secret to thriving in tough economic times: listening to what your clientele has to say and then crafting a community accordingly. Reed is known for their extraordinary golf communities, and when they began work on Hampton Lake, located in the picturesque South Carolina Low Country, they anticipated that this new community would be created in the same spirit. Along the way, though, they realized that the Low Country was already home to a considerable number of top-shelf golf courses. The innovative folks at Reed knew that in order to do well at a time when home sales were slowing, they needed to do something different. They turned to their customers for feedback—specifically, couples and women who were considering moving to the Hilton Head area.

Their emphasis on consumer research has paid off. The end result: the Hilton Head area’s first lakeside community, recognized with a “Best in American Living Award” by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and dedicated to creating an amenity-rich, resort-style environment that celebrates connecting family with nature. Located in Bluffton, SC, Hampton Lake features 340 acres of nature preserve, a 165-acre freshwater lake, parks, trails, boardwalks, activity centers, beaches, dining and many more amenities designed to make this very special community resonate in the hearts of grandparents and grandchildren alike.

Amenities galore, a pristine natural setting, and well-appointed homes all combine to create a place that the NAHB recognized as the “Best Community in America!” Still, the developers at Reed knew they could take their recipe for success one step further. In response to buyers’ emphasis on smaller, more energy-efficient homes, they created Hampton Lake’s Cottage Imagination Collection, designed by David Weekley and starting at $315,000. The single-family homes featured in the Imagination Collection are created in the style of Craftsman-style bungalows and range from 1,700 to 2,450 square feet. Their open floor plans and outdoor living spaces enable homeowners to maximize their existing living space—living large without the corresponding carbon imprint.

“We are really pleased to be offering these exciting new homes,” says Gerrit Albert, president of Hampton Lake. “By listening to our customers and the market as a whole, we discovered that more and more couples and families want smarter, simpler homes that won’t mortgage their future. We went to work to deliver on those needs and created homes with dramatically lower price points.”

Gary Sandor, partner with Reed Development, concurs. “Sustainable preservation and construction are hallmarks of Hampton Lake, and these new homes fit perfectly into that mindset. The Cottage Imagination Collection reflects our ongoing environmental commitment and will allow new homeowners to live in a private community with completed award-winning amenities, at a price that is wonderfully affordable.”

Green living, affordability, smaller, well-appointed homes and a stellar selection of amenities all feature prominently in a portrait of today’s homebuyers’ ideal purchase. For those aged 55 and over, though, another variable is just as significant when choosing a new place to call home. According to a 2007 survey by the MetLife Mature Market Institute and the NAHB, 31 percent of adults who relocated to owner occupied communities targeting ages 55 and older chose their new home because of its close proximity to family and friends. Communities like Hampton Lake and Compass Pointe—as well as the others offered by Reed Development and Logan Homes—are ideally situated in gorgeous, family-friendly coastal North and South Carolina, where the warm weather, sunshine and plethora of outdoor activities beckon to younger and older generations alike. In the end, it all comes down to that well-known real estate adage: Location, location, location.