What are buyers looking for? From mundane to gadgets.

November 20, 2008

Just today I came across an ad for a garage lift (Garage Lift) showing how you can park two cars in a single car garage with the help of a nifty lift that tucks one car away in the basement. Supposedly saves you money from building an additional garage…Knowing my luck, I’d crush the car on top trying to get mine out from the basement! I can see where it might be a valuable addition to homes with a tight footprint in high cost areas, but for most of us with the luxury of ample lot space, a double car garage is the much more easy alternative!

Kitchens and baths are still extremely important. Kitchens that can double as a living space are incredibly popular. It’s difficult to cram party goers into an 8x8 foot space while you finish up cooking the appetizers. Updated appliances make cooking easy and fast. I built a new home a few years ago and I wouldn’t trade my Advantium microwave/halogen oven for anything – same goes for my induction cook top. Having set fire to my previous kitchen I appreciate the fact that nothing will burn on the cook top! However, guests who bring over a ceramic saucepan with their potluck are a little bemused as to why my stove doesn’t work for them but it works for me – “Magic!” I say.

Buyers are looking for bright, inviting kitchens, with plenty of space for all the gadgets they’ve accumulated over the years. Many cooks drool over walk in pantries and space for a matching fridge and freezer. Solid surface counters are still one of the most desirable features, but now there are other options such as composite granite, cork, stainless steel to choose from. Islands are starting to look like furniture and freezer, refrigerator and warming drawers still remain popular, and are even migrating out of the kitchen into other areas of the house. I wish I’d gone with a warming drawer instead of a heated towel rack in my bathroom – the rack only warms the section of the towel it touches. Hardly worth turning on in the morning. And talking of bathrooms - over 50% of Japenese now have some kind of water washing toilets. Charmin beware. You can find these nifty toilet seats on Amazon for less than $500 - it's worth watching the promotional videos! (Toto Washlet)

Many buyers appreciate good lighting – from well designed artificial light to energy efficient windows that let in sun and open the home to views. Other improvements are integrated sound, ipod docks and of course, home theaters. With motorized screens, projector lifts and darkening shades, it is possible to combine a living space with a home theater with a flip of a button. During the day, a formal living room – by night a ground shaking cinema showing the latest Indiana Jones movie!

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Local Information for Provo, UT

Latitude: 40.244421 -- Longitude: -111.660804

Other Area Cities: American Fork Provo Mapleton Orem Spanish Fork Salem Springville Payson

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Provo is a city in Utah and the county seat of Utah County, located about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. It lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south. It is perhaps best-known as home of Brigham Young University. Settled in 1849 by 33 families from Salt Lake City, Provo has grown to a population of 105,166 as of the 2000 Census, making it the third-largest city in the state. A 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed its population at 113,459[1], which would make it the second-largest city in Utah, barely surpassing West Valley City. The Provo-Orem Metropolitan Area, consisting of Utah County has 412,361 residents. The site was named Fort Utah by the Mormon settlers, but re-named Provo in 1850 for Étienne Provost, an early French-Canadian trapper who arrived in the region in 1825. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Utah 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Provo	Utah	United States
Population	105,166	2,233,169	281,421,906
Median age	22.9	27.1	35.3
Median age for Male	23.5	26.7	34
Median age for Female	22	27.7	36.5
Households	29,192	701,281	105,480,101
Household population	97,594	2,192,689	273,643,273
Average household size	3.34	3.13	2.59
Families	19,948	535,294	71,787,347
Average family size	3.4	3.57	3.14
Housing units	30,374	768,594	115,904,641
Occupied units	29,192	701,281	105,480,101
Vacant units	1,182	67,313	10,424,540

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