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 Irvine, CA

Latitude: 33.684065 -- Longitude: -117.792581

Other Area Cities: Aliso Viejo Costa Mesa Yorba Linda Garden Grove Huntington Beach Laguna Hills Mission Viejo Santa Ana Tustin Laguna Beach Lake Forest Newport Beach Orange Westminster Irvine El Toro Fountain Valley Villa Park

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Irvine is an incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated in 1971, the 46-square mile city has a population of 199,755 (as of 2006). It currently has plans to annex an undeveloped area to the north, and has already annexed the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, most of which is to be made into a park called the Orange County Great Park. The city is notable for its well-regarded public elementary and high schools and exceptionally low crime rate (as of 2005, the FBI considers Irvine the safest city in the US). Irvine is home to the University of California, Irvine (UCI), the Orange County Center of University of Southern California, Irvine Campus of Alliant International University, Concordia University, and Irvine Valley College. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

California 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Irvine	California	United States
Population	143,072	33,871,648	281,421,906
Median age	33.1	33.3	35.3
Median age for Male	32	32.2	34
Median age for Female	34.1	34.4	36.5
Households	51,199	11,502,870	105,480,101
Household population	135,960	33,051,894	273,643,273
Average household size	2.66	2.87	2.59
Families	34,380	7,920,049	71,787,347
Average family size	3.17	3.43	3.14
Housing units	53,711	12,214,549	115,904,641
Occupied units	51,199	11,502,870	105,480,101
Vacant units	2,512	711,679	10,424,540

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