I am all about being real with people. I mean, that is what you want, isn't it? When you ask a Realtor a question, don't you expect a REAL answer? One that requires some thought?
I have been in the Bluegrass area since I was a kid and a Realtor since 2005. I have watched it grow and change. My blog is all about what is happening right now with our market, my thoughts on neighborhoods, and the future.
I hope you enjoy it!
John
I have been in the Bluegrass area since I was a kid and a Realtor since 2005. I have watched it grow and change. My blog is all about what is happening right now with our market, my thoughts on neighborhoods, and the future.
I hope you enjoy it!
John
So You're Moving to LEXington Ky: Relationship Between Resale Value & Local Preferences
Posted 11-30-2010 at 09:06 AM by LEXpert
Why is it important to know what most LEXington people want in a house? Because one day....whatever you buy.....you'll need to sell. Odds are your buyer will be somebody who already lives here!
To begin, most of LEXington real estate falls into two price ranges. The $120-180k is pretty popular with most buyers, and the $200-250k is where most of them move up to. Those ranges are the bread and butter of our market. FYI, these price ranges remained pretty stable during all the craziness of the past several years. We have a decent demand for the $300k-$500k range, and then it gets really slow above that. (The recent expiration of the tax credits has temporarily thrown all this out of sync a little since most of the buyers in the $120-$250k price ranges bought in the first half of the year.)
Now, if you are coming from an area with a lot of hills, a steep driveway may be normal to you.....But it is the kiss of death to most buyers I have ever encountered. We just don't like them here. Even though we usually have 10-20 days a year where they might be slippery, every buyer I have ever shown a house with a steep driveway says they'd hate to have it in the winter.
Another thing that doesn't seem to sell well is a house with one of those basements where half the basement is the garage. There is no data that I know of on this, but it just seems that every house I have ever seen like this seems to take longer to sell and the value per square foot is less than that of a house with a full basement. Nobody likes carrying groceries up from the basement, but there are other issues too. One of them is that many prevent you from having a fully fenced yard since you have to either have a gate across the driveway or fence around the perimeter of it. But I think the biggest deal is that most people who want a basement, want the big open space that a full basement gives you. When half of it is a garage, you have less space.
Some other observations are that few people I have encountered get excited about a corner lot. Nobody minds them, but I have only had a few people tell me they prefer one. On the other hand, Split-Level and Split-Foyer houses are very polarizing. Most people tell me they don't want one.....period! Others tell me that they totally love them. They still sell well under $180k because they offer a lot of space for the money, especially under $150k.
I hope this helps you pick a house that will be easy to sell when that time comes. In a hot market, everything sells. In a cool market, buyers don’t want to settle for their second or third choice. Having a well thought out exit strategy will make it much easier for you.
Hit my Wordpress blog at http://www.thelexpert.com/ for more LEXington real estate info. I have video neighborhood tours and some good links you'll need.
~John
To begin, most of LEXington real estate falls into two price ranges. The $120-180k is pretty popular with most buyers, and the $200-250k is where most of them move up to. Those ranges are the bread and butter of our market. FYI, these price ranges remained pretty stable during all the craziness of the past several years. We have a decent demand for the $300k-$500k range, and then it gets really slow above that. (The recent expiration of the tax credits has temporarily thrown all this out of sync a little since most of the buyers in the $120-$250k price ranges bought in the first half of the year.)
Now, if you are coming from an area with a lot of hills, a steep driveway may be normal to you.....But it is the kiss of death to most buyers I have ever encountered. We just don't like them here. Even though we usually have 10-20 days a year where they might be slippery, every buyer I have ever shown a house with a steep driveway says they'd hate to have it in the winter.
Another thing that doesn't seem to sell well is a house with one of those basements where half the basement is the garage. There is no data that I know of on this, but it just seems that every house I have ever seen like this seems to take longer to sell and the value per square foot is less than that of a house with a full basement. Nobody likes carrying groceries up from the basement, but there are other issues too. One of them is that many prevent you from having a fully fenced yard since you have to either have a gate across the driveway or fence around the perimeter of it. But I think the biggest deal is that most people who want a basement, want the big open space that a full basement gives you. When half of it is a garage, you have less space.
Some other observations are that few people I have encountered get excited about a corner lot. Nobody minds them, but I have only had a few people tell me they prefer one. On the other hand, Split-Level and Split-Foyer houses are very polarizing. Most people tell me they don't want one.....period! Others tell me that they totally love them. They still sell well under $180k because they offer a lot of space for the money, especially under $150k.
I hope this helps you pick a house that will be easy to sell when that time comes. In a hot market, everything sells. In a cool market, buyers don’t want to settle for their second or third choice. Having a well thought out exit strategy will make it much easier for you.
Hit my Wordpress blog at http://www.thelexpert.com/ for more LEXington real estate info. I have video neighborhood tours and some good links you'll need.
~John
