Thursday, October 1, 2026
Buying a home is often shaped by immediate needs, but those priorities can shift over time.
Carolyn Argento, a sales manager with Douglas Elliman who oversees offices in Merrick and Long Beach, said her own experience reflects how housing decisions evolve with different stages of life.
Early on, her focus was to find a home that could accommodate a large family. “We had five kids with one on the way,” Argento said. “We needed four plus bedrooms and definitely needed a yard.”
How housing priorities shift over time
At the time, practical considerations outweighed design preferences. Space, functionality and affordability guided the decision-making process.
That approach, she said, is common among buyers balancing budgets with immediate needs. "It can be a choice of house versus location," she said.
For many families, those trade-offs define the initial purchase. A home that meets core requirements — even if it lacks certain features — often becomes the most realistic option.
Downsizing and rethinking priorities
Over time, those priorities changed. After her children grew older, Argento downsized and approached her next home differently.
Instead of looking for a fully updated property, she chose a house that, in her opinion, was in the perfect location. Though her new home required many improvements, each project allowed her to gradually make changes to the environment. She now has a much smaller home on a nice-sized piece of property with bay and country club views.
Living in the home before making major decisions gave Argento a better sense of how she wanted to use the space. “You have to live in it to start to feel it,” she said. "We started with the basics, electric, plumbing, air conditioning, and then moved on to the rooms; kitchen, dining room and bath, which had to be completely gutted."
Her experience reflects a broader reality for buyers, particularly in a market with limited inventory — not every home meets all expectations at the time of purchase.
“If the house fits the basic parameters, people will work around the rest and do what they have to do,” Argento said.
Renovating over time instead of all at once
That flexibility can mean delaying renovations or making incremental updates based on budget and lifestyle.
Argento said personal style can also change over time, making it difficult to plan every detail in advance.
“I lived in it first,” she said. “Also, during COVID so I was limited on renovations, just as much as I was with furniture and appliances, but I was able to work around it to find what worked best for us at that time.”
Life events continue to shape housing decisions
Life events can also reshape housing needs. Argento said that after moving, her family continued to grow, which led to new considerations for space and layout.
“There’s always something,” she said. "We started with the basics, but even now, seven years later, we plan to expand to have more room for the grandkids, entertaining and to just sit back and enjoy our views of the bay and golf course."
Those shifts highlight how housing decisions are often ongoing rather than fixed at the time of purchase.
Argento said buyers should focus on finding a home that meets their core needs, even if it requires adjustments later.
“It depends upon what’s most important — the rest comes with time.” she said.
Her experience also reflects the realities she hears from agents working across the areas her offices serve, where limited inventory continues to shape buyer decisions. She said buyers often must weigh trade-offs, whether between price, location or condition, and be prepared to adjust expectations as opportunities arise.
At the same time, she said the process can require patience. Some buyers may look at multiple homes before finding the right fit, while others may need to act quickly when a property meets their needs.
