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Do you have a Front Porch

By Eileen Landau

Real Estate Agent with BAIRD & WARNER, NAPERVILLE

November 10, 2006 09:05 AM

According to NAR's online magazine, "Front porches are making a comeback - sort of.
After porches practically disappeared in the last half of the 20^th century, the number of new houses with porches has increased about 11 percent in the past decade, according to the National Association of Home Builders."

Interesting because now that I think about it, what I've seen in some of the newer Naperville construction homes are pseudo porches...a small cement area with a covered roof at the front door.

We have a 'real' porch...big enough to put out plants, a love seat, tables and chairs. And, during the summer months it's a quiet place to read or relax as we have shrubbery that provides a screen.

How do you feel about a front porch?

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Leigh Brown

Leigh Brown & Associates, RE/MAX Executive - Charlotte, NC

CEO, Dream Maker - Charlotte, NC

here in the South, it's pretty much on every buyer's wish list-especially those relocating folks who have that Gone With the Wind picture in their minds. I always advise clients who are building to do some sort of porch, because it truly affects resale.

Nov 10, 2006 11:08 AM

Eric Bouler

Gardner Realtors, Licensed in La. - New Orleans, LA

Listening to your Needs

It always has been a big thing in the New Orleans especially in the uptown and garden district. I love porches and may do a page on the website to feature porches. The south has more.

Nov 10, 2006 01:26 PM

Kristal Kraft

Novella Real Estate - Denver, CO

Selling Metro Denver Real Estate - 303-589-2022

Eileen,

When I first read this in a builder's brochure about front porches being popular I thought it was marketing hype. Why? Because the houses were very close to each other and the garage was in the alley. The builder claimed people wanted to sit on their front porch and chat with their neighbor.

Never, never in all my years of selling have I had someone ask me for a very small yard so I can sit on my front porch and chat with my neighbor. People do however say, I want privacy, I don't want to SEE my neighbor.

Now when it comes to front porches, ERIC BOULER has the classics. That's what I consider a front porch and YES I know I could sell them all day long..

Good post! :)

Nov 10, 2006 01:32 PM

Michele Connors

The Overton Group, LLC Pitt & Carteret County - Greenville, NC

Your Eastern North Carolina Realtor

Love a porch and would not own a home without one. Front is alright but back is where I live- grilling all yr round and certainly where the coctails tase best!

Nov 10, 2006 02:31 PM

Eileen Landau

BAIRD & WARNER, NAPERVILLE - Naperville, IL

ABR, CRS, e-PRO

So very interesting...

I never thought about porches being regional. But, I do have a picture of a porch with a glider and a table loaded with lemonade and cookies. Is that a southern thing, Leigh, Eric?

And, tonight on TV there was an add with a grandfather sitting on a porch swing with his granddaughter.

In our subdivision of 304 homes, there are probably 8 homes with front porches. And, one of the most expensive is a big white house with a "gone with the wind" front porch. KK, this home is probably worth $750,000...although it sits next to a creek and has had basement floods several times in the past 15 years.

Michele, all of our homes have decks and/or patios. And, yes, we do our entertaining 'out back' where the grill is. But you can't beat our front porch for shade and quietitude.

And, there's another blog...back yards, decks and patios!

Nov 10, 2006 03:00 PM

Carole Cohen

Howard Hanna Cleveland City Office - Cleveland, OH

Realtor, ePRO

Front porches are the norm here in Cleveland. That's because of the age of the housing stock. My first home in the Cleveland area was in Lakewood and I just about lived on my front porch when weather permitted. I knew I had to have one when I moved again....and I do. As for clients, more often than not it is one of the things they are seeking. There is just something 'warm and fuzzy' about a porch!

Nov 11, 2006 01:58 AM

Bonnie Erickson

Tangletown Realty - Saint Paul, MN

Front porches . . . I could write a book about how they changed my suburban ways of wanting isolation and privacy. Our old house and every house on the block has a front porch. Within a month of sitting on our front porch, we had met our neighbors from all four sides of 3 blocks! I lived for 18 years in our suburban house and sat in the yard in the front of that house and only knew the immediate neighbors whose yards touched ours. I don't know if it's the porch, smaller yards, or the city, but the neighbors introduced themselves when we were on our front porch!

Nov 15, 2006 03:13 PM

Do you have a Front Porch

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