Being a realtor, what are your favorite features in a home? Do you have these features in your house?
My favorite features in a house would have to be a great kitchen and a fabulous backyard. Those two things will sell a house around here quicker than anything.
The current trend in kitchens for our area are darker cabinets, granite counters and stainless steel appliances. Cabinets don't have to be cherry, just a darker wood. Cherry was really popular about 6 or 7 years ago, but that has already faded. In fact, a lot of the model homes are already starting to show lighter cabinets back in the kitchens, so give it about 2 or 3 years and I am sure that will be popular again. Granite counters are still very nice but a lot of people are also looking at man made stones such as silestone. I think that's what it's called anyway. Looks a lot like granite but you don't have to seal it every year and doesn't have some of the maintenance issues granite can have. Stainless is popular with everyone except those that have kids. Mom's have already figured out fingerprints on stainless appliances are a major pain! Here is an example of a great kitchen at a house that just went on the market not far from me:
Do I have these features in my kitchen? Nope. Wish I did though. Our house is 15 years old and still the "builder original" minus new appliances. But we even stuck with the white appliances because I don't like black and didn't want the upkeep of stainless. What I do have is a Maytag Gemini oven that I love, love, LOVE! Hardly ever use the big oven, mostly just use the smaller one. My problem is that I would love to just gut my house and start over. I would totally do away with our formal living room/dining room and move the kitchen to the front of the house. I would make the kitchen/family room area one big greatroom. Maybe when I win powerball? I love our neighborhood and location but am ready for a change. Ron and I have talked about moving but after helping my Mom these past few weeks, there is no way I want to move any time soon.
We do have a great backyard though. At least in my opinion but I am sure it wouldn't be right for everyone. It's all pool! When we were building the pool we knew we wanted a big one and very little yard area to maintain, so that's what we did. I have a decent size patio area extended, large raised flowerbed that has some additional seating for parties and we did a little grass on the side for the doggies. We only have to do trimming about one every 6 weeks in the summer and about every 3 month in the winter, so there isn't a lot of upkeep. For resale purposes, a larger yard is almost always better. Most people want a pool off to one side and still some play area for the kids. Lots of patio space and a built in BBQ and fireplace area are usually a must. We do so much outside living here, people really consider the backyard as an extension of their living space.
This backyard is from the same house as the kitchen. It looks like a resort. With a price tag of over $2,000,000 it better look like that! I told Ron this could be our powerball house, but it really is only a dream. The picture below is from my Mom's old house of her kitchen. A little more realistic, but actually has a lot of the same features.
So now I would like to hear from all of you. What is popular in homes in the area that you live in? What kind of features do you look for when thinking about buying a home?
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