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!

As of 11/21/09 the Gerald Abeille RePage is ranked at 4,447 with 50 points.
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Local Information for Boston, MA

Latitude: 42.321597 -- Longitude: -71.089115

Other Area Cities: Boston Arlington Belmont Quincy Braintree Cambridge Chelsea Everett Malden Medford Melrose Milton Revere Somerville Winthrop Lexington Watertown Woburn

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Boston is the capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. It is largest city in New England. Founded in 1630, Boston is one of the oldest, wealthiest and most culturally significant cities in the United States. Its economy is based on higher education, research, health care, finance, and technology, principally biotechnology. Boston has many nicknames. The City on a Hill came from original Massachusetts Bay Colony's governor John Winthrop's goal to create the biblical "City on a Hill." It also refers to the original three hills of Boston. Beantown refers to early Bostonian tradition of making baked beans with imported molasses. The Hub is a shortened form of a phrase recorded by writer Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Hub of the Solar System.[2] William Tudor, co-founder of the North American Review, christened the city The Athens of America for its great cultural and intellectual influence. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Massachusetts 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Boston	Massachusetts	United States
Population	589,141	6,349,097	281,421,906
Median age	31.1	36.5	35.3
Median age for Male	30.4	35.4	34
Median age for Female	31.8	37.7	36.5
Households	239,528	2,443,580	105,480,101
Household population	554,064	6,127,881	273,643,273
Average household size	2.31	2.51	2.59
Families	115,096	1,576,696	71,787,347
Average family size	3.17	3.11	3.14
Housing units	251,935	2,621,989	115,904,641
Occupied units	239,528	2,443,580	105,480,101
Vacant units	12,407	178,409	10,424,540

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