When buyers go home shopping, they don't always have a clear idea of what they are looking for. Initially, they may just want to have a look around to see what they can afford, or what they can reasonably expect to get for their money. Unfortunately, as a result of this preliminary survey in a market like Chicago, home buyers often find they have to adjust their expectations downward. This is often a disappointing experience that sometimes discourages buyers from purchasing a home for a long time.
To avoid some of the disappointment. it's a good idea to evaluate your space needs honestly before you go home shopping. We sometimes think we need certain spaces simply because the names of those spaces have become part of the language we use to describe house. For example, we expect a house to have a living room. To realize that such delineation is not required, think of dwellings such as converted lofts, where the space is wide open, and the definition of space is up to the occupant, and not necessarily imposed by the architecture itself. It is also possible to use this type of flexible thinking in a more traditionally designed space by carefully considering the number of occupants (including possible visitors), and the types of activities they will be performing in the space. For example:
- Does the master bedroom need to have a sitting area (sounds nice, but will you actually use it? Maybe a porch swing could serve the same purpose)?
- Is it absolutely necessary to have a separate bath and shower?
- Do you need a full guest bath (might be necessary of friends or relatives often spend the night), or will a powder room suffice (it should, if guests typically only stay for dinner)?
- Do you children all need separate bedrooms? Older homes with irregular attic spaces can accommodate kids in fun anf imaginative ways without each having a separate room.
- Do you need a formal dining room, or is your household more casual? In that case, can dining and family activities take place in the same room? Can the dining room double as a homework/craft room?
- Do you really need a family room AND a living room, or are the functions redundant?
- Do you need a separate and private home office (yes, if you regularly work at home)? Or, will and alcove or unused space in another room serve your purpose (it might, if you use it for paying household bills and checking your e-mail)? Can the office double as a guest bedroom?
- For more questions and ideas, check out The Not So Big House series by Sarah Susanka.
When evaluating you space needs, it may be helpful to consider the following home sale statistics from Chicago's north side neighborhoods for homes sold in the last six months:
- Median price for 3-bedroom single family home: $410K vs. $530K for a 4-bedroom home
- Median price among single family homes under 2,000 square feet: $325K; homes 2,000-3,000 square feet: $573K; homes 3,000-4,000 square feet: $775K; homes over 4,000 square feet: $1.3 million.
- Lot size in the city of Chicago does not seem to have a huge impact on home price, but this may be quite different in suburban areas.
- In the neighborhood of Lakeview 2-bedroom condos sold at the median price of $359K vs. $573K for 3-bedroom condos; among condos under 1,000 square feet the median price was $220K vs. $441K for those over 1,000 square feet.
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