REAL ESTATE

No-Spice Architecture: Let’s get conflicted, as the psychologists say.

A recent survey of 1,700 home shoppers across California found that they want some variety in the architectural styles that builders offer. A tally of shopper votes on 15 different elevations for detached homes in several price ranges found the ubiquitous Southern California Mediterranean styles in last place.

After learning that, a project manager at A-M Homes of Southern California called to report that the company’s Mediterranean styles are the best sellers in its new luxury-home development in Lakewood, while the wood-sided models just sit there.

Then the mail brought a release from Arvida Co., developer of Coto de Caza. A survey of potential buyers there found that “one of the reasons people are attracted to the community is . . . architectural diversity.”