Looking for the Average Priced Home?

Then, you’re probably going to be frustrated and disappointed in your search.  There are 103 homes currently available for sale in Anchorage and Eagle River between $300,000 and $350,000.  Of those 103 homes, 24 were built during or before the 1970’s or approximately one out of every four homes available.  The second largest category is the remodels, some of which were originally built in the l950’s or l960’s.  The l990’s was a good decade for new construction and there are 20 homes for sale built during that time period.

However, starting in the mid-2000’s building permits took a nose dive and there are only 13 homes currently for sale that was built during that time period.  And there are only 9 homes built in 2010 and 2011 that are currently on the market—some of which are not yet even in the foundation stage.

Those of us that have been in the business of selling residential real estate for a long time, although not quite as far back as some of the age of the remodels, have come to realize that there is only one word that describes what a buyer has to come to terms with in their search for a home and that word is ‘compromise’.  All home purchases are a compromise whether it is for your starter home, your move-up or move-down home. Even the million dollar buyer doesn’t get everything he/she wants in a home due to lot topography, building codes and architectural compromises.  So the wise buyer needs to first understand local market conditions, available inventory and then establish his/her priorities within those constraints.

If a large lot (and by that I mean over 4,000 square feet) is your priority, then you’re probably going to end up with an older home.  Homes built prior to l990 had the luxury of a sixty to seventy-five foot wide lots and backyards deep enough to fence.  As subdivision building standards got more complicated and expensive and land became scarcer and more difficult to build on due to slope and poor soils, developers built narrower lots.  Today, many lots are as narrow as 40 feet in width and less than 5,000 square feet in total square footage.

So if you’ve decided your priority is a brand new home, and you’re an average priced buyer, expect a smaller lot.  The exception to that is WestPark, a development reconfigured from the old Sand Lake gravel pits where the lots are currently seventy feet wide.  Hultquist Homes and Spinell Homes are both building in WestPark for the mid $300,000’s.  Eagle Crossing in Eagle River has homes in the low $300,000 by WoodBuilt. These homes are two-stories with walk-out basements and double car garage.  The lots are just over 4,000 square feet but border a designated wetland/greenbelt area.  There are a few lots and homes left in Scenic View at the curve where Tudor turns into Muldoon Road built by Matt Mathews of Six-M Construction.  And that’s about it for new construction.

The second largest category of average priced homes is the remodeled homes.  Remodel homes fall into two categories.  I want to call the first category the ‘personal’ remodel.  That’s the homeowner who’s decided to customize his home to fit his personal taste and lifestyle.  I live in a home like that.  My home is fifteen years old and four years ago, I tore out the walls in my kitchen, made a great room and painted my living and kitchen a speckled dark maroon. That’s a good example of the personal remodel that  won’t return dollar for dollar its cost and may be on the market for a longer period of time due to its ‘custom’ features.

The second type of remodel is the ‘let’s get this home ready to sell’ remodel.  These sellers are a lot smarter than the personal remodelers.  They treat their home like a spec new construction home and upgrade their flooring and other surfaces to a neutral color palette. Finding a home like this takes work but it is possible even with our low inventory.  A professional home inspection can help a buyer identify all the life and safety issues for older homes.  Those items are important to identify in an older home and require additional negotiation between the buyer and seller.

This is a frustrating time in our local market for the average home buyer. Last year residential building permits were almost at a 20 year low.  Resale inventory is low and aged. It takes a lot of work to pick through the inventory to find a home that meets your needs and you have to act quickly once you do. There’s little room for price negotiations, despite all the negative national press about falling prices. And, remember, buying a home in today’s market requires ‘compromise’.