As you read my posts, you could come to believe that price per square foot is all that matters. Or, at least, $$/sq.ft. compared to other houses near you. When buyers look at a house, the finishes and appointments are the first thing they see. For most buyers the kitchen is the most critical room. The kitchen needs to meet or exceed expectations for the price range of the house. A $500,000 house with formica counter tops is a hard sell unless it is very cheap relative to the neighborhood. Granite slabs are expected. Cabinetry needs to be up to date, and price-point appropriate. Appliances probably should stay with the house, and, for now, should be stainless steel.

The higher the price of the home, the greater the need for granite in the bathrooms. There, sellers may be able to “make do” with tiles rather than slabs, and in the “lower-upper” price range, ceramic tile may work.

Buyers react to design features, meaning colors, patterns seen in showers or on backsplashes. Generally, tans and creams are marketable. You need to be careful with greens and, unless you employ an interior designer, stay away from blues and oranges. An all white house may sound neutral (and may actually be neutral) but most buyers react poorly to snow-white interiors.

A few days ago, my interior designer and I went through a pair of new houses just off NW Thompson. They have nice territorial views from several rooms and are a very spacious 4,200 sq.ft. & 4,360 sq.ft. Priced at $529,000 & $550,000, they weigh in at a thrifty $126/sq.ft. The neighborhood asking price is $160/sq.ft. so the first question that pops into one’s mind is “Why haven’t they sold, already?”

Details are why — although some of the “details” are rather more like “problems.” The first impression as one walks through the door is a mixture of, “Feels spacious” and “These floors?!?” The houses both have 10 foot ceilings which are quite nice and increase the feeling of spaciousness. The floors are “pre-finished” hardwood, stained dark. Using pre-finished floors rather than finished in place saved the builder money, but the floors catch your attention in a bad way. I was put off by the deep grooves and the patent-leather-like high gloss; my designer’s response was, “Imagine how much dirt will accumulate in the seams.” The smaller & less expensive of the two then shows quite nicely on the main floor and upstairs. The finishes are good, the light-fixtures are nice and the selection of granite for the kitchen is color-appropriate for the rest of the main floor.

——BUT —-
The 800 sq.ft. daylight basement area is unfinished. There is a tub-shower, rough plumbing for a toilet & basin, and the sheetrock is up and taped. That leaves the buyer in the position of having to find workmen to carpet or tile, to install the plumbing fixtures and to add trim. The listing agent estimates that the costs will be $12,000 to $18,000. If we add $20,000 to the price, it becomes $549,000, still a thrifty $130/sq.ft. The larger house has a 950 sq.ft, unfinished daylight basement as well. If we add $25,000 for finishing it, the house would be priced at $132/sq.ft., still well below the neighborhood average of $160/sq.ft. and the prospective buyer would not be worried about getting it done. Or, to look at it another way, suppose the builder wanted to ask $150/sq.ft. for the houses, still below the usual price. That would translate to $630,000 and $653,000. That makes the return on investment about 5 to 1 for the smaller and 4 to 1 for the larger.

The larger house has other problems. The selection of granite for the kitchen leaves much to be desired, and the shade of green chosen for the trim is … well, slightly sea-sickening. The green trim runs throughout both floors. My designer was very unkind about the color selections in this house. And when we got to the master bath… Oh, My!

The bathroom floor was a love-it-or-hate-it Arizona Sunset on gray that coordinated with nothing in the house. The backsplash tile was patterned and was carried into the shower but (there’s that word again) the shower floor had a different pattern. The total effect was to make me feel like I was participating in some sort of test. Designer lady was vehement: she truly did not like the bathroom, not even a little bit.

While the houses sit, as they have for four months, interest on the building loan accrues. How much cheaper would it have been to (a) hire a designer, such as the one we use, and (b) finish the basement space? We will know in the fullness of time.