Ro Troia

What You Get for The Money

What does today’s average buyer look for in a home?  Here are the top ten home features according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2007 profile of buyer’s home feature preferences.  As a real estate professional, I have made these observations when working with home buyers.  This list will also aid home sellers evaluate the desireability of the various home features.

1. Central Air Conditioning
2. A Garage (2 or more spaces)
3. Walk-in Closet in master bedroom
4. Backyard/play area
5. Cable/Satellite TV-ready
6. High-speed Internet Access
7. Separate shower enclosure in master/main bath
8. Patio
9. Fencing
10. Home less than 10 years old.

Interesting to note that four out of five home buyers worked with a real estate agent when making their purchase.

The most desired rooms or spaces are garages, living rooms and laundry rooms.

In Boulder, Co. real estate will most likely be more than 10 years old, will not necessarily have central air conditoning and may or may not have a garage and your guess is as good as mine as to where the laundry room will be!   It’s true, Boulder is a unique place with very unique neighborhoods.  There are no sprawling subdivisions with new home construction, or homes with side load garages and .5 acre lots, they just don’t exist.   Boulder has older neighborhoods, that will charm the pants off of any buyer, mature tree lined streets, tons of public open space, parks, hiking trails and you can walk to shops in some areas.  Some neighborhoods are so desireable, that older homes are being totally redone and some even scraped.  There are no cookie cutter homes and you most likely cannot buy a home for less than $400k, which would be considered a starter home with very little upgrades, small in size and possibly a one car garage.  

So my list of what buyers want may challenge a home buyer looking to purchase a home in Boulder, Co.  A home buyer is buying a home most likely to satisfy their life style, love for the outdoors, the highly rated school system, and to be part of the Boulder culture.  

I once had a buyer call from back east and give me their buying preferences, which were; a large home on a large lot, close to downtown for $200k.  Then they asked me if they were being realistic….oh sure maybe 30 years ago!  If you are relocating to Boulder, do your homework, talk with an experienced agent, try not to get sticker shock because the prices are worth living here.

Tags: Tags: boulder home values, boulder homes, boulder properties, Boulder real estate, buy real estate, buyers

This entry was posted on Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 11:50 pm and is filed under Boulder Subdivisions and Neighborhoods, Buyer's Corner, First Time Buyers, Focus on Boulder, Relocating, Selling Thoughts, Trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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