This summer I have been renovating my house. You quickly find that you start to pay much more attention to other houses, renovation articles in papers, magazines on decor and property market publications. Naturally, the real estate agent is using this as a selling point and hopes to gain a superior, premium price for the property as a result. That is to say that the builder sketches out a layout for the house, has a draftsmen produce some drawings and all of a sudden the builders have plans from which they can work. The design is often pragmatic, uninspired, functional and more than likely copied from somebody else's design.
Chances are that it was copied from another house which the builder saw someone else build earlier.
So the suggestion goes that paying a premium for an architect designed home, will lead to a better quality of life. The home will be a more pleasant place to live. Like the housing market this is no great surprise. There is afterall several comparisons. The worldwide demand is great both for housing and software.