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Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
Interesting post. I didn't have stone countertops until my third home was remodeled in 1998. I have been a homeowner since 1979. Of course, back in my day, Corian was all the rage. Do first time homebuyers expect these updates?
That depends on the amount of money in their parents bank accounts and the generosity of those parents.

If they are just trying to get by and don't have deep pockets, I think most would be satisfied with lesser grade products, especially if it means the difference between buying and not buying, or struggling to pay bills and not struggling as much to pay bills.
 

Miss Kitty

Meow
Jun 10, 2005
47,017
1,131
69
You mean to tell me that our parents would have helped us buy a house???? :doh: POOT! We did it the hard way...we earned it!
 

TooFarTampa

SoWal Insider
That depends on the amount of money in their parents bank accounts and the generosity of those parents.

If they are just trying to get by and don't have deep pockets, I think most would be satisfied with lesser grade products, especially if it means the difference between buying and not buying, or struggling to pay bills and not struggling as much to pay bills.

I don't know if that's true anymore. Lots and lots and lots of people (but by no means all) consider these items to be "must-haves," which explains why many in their 20s would much rather buy a tiny condo in a new building that has granite counters and stainless appliances than purchase a home in an established neighborhood that needs some work. I don't know if it is the demands of the consumer that have driven the market or that the buyers are just more susceptible to what the builders/developers are telling them they should want, but either way it just doesn't make a lot of sense.
 

Pirate

Beach Fanatic
Jan 2, 2006
331
29
It is interesting to see such a wide variety of opinions on this board. On one post there is an off beach house for sale in Watercolor with an asking price for the structure in the $350-$400 a foot range because of the finishes and well over a million for the lot. On another post there are people complaining that they can't get their house built for less than $200 a square foot in the same area. Now entry level houses for under $240k. If the lot is $80k and you put a 1800 s.f. house on it, bare bones you will be looking at a $389k sale price. Figure $125 a foot for construction and a 10% overhead and 10% profit. Then don't forget about the realtor! Be nice and say 5%. Basic home construction costs are less than a top of the line house but granite and crown moulding dont make the costs $400 a foot. Also removing the upgrades doesn't make the $200 a foot house $80 a foot. If buyers didn't want the granite I assure you it wouldn't be there. It's all part of the credit mentality because they only cost $12 a month. I agree that way too many people are watching "Flip this house", but apparently haven't noticed the people losing money on that show.
 
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TooFarTampa

SoWal Insider
If buyers didn't want the granite I assure you it wouldn't be there. It's all part of the credit mentality because they only cost $12 a month. I agree that way too many people are watching "Flip this house", but apparently haven't noticed the people losing money on that show.

Bingo.
 

SHELLY

SoWal Insider
Jun 13, 2005
5,770
802
I hope that someone can help me understand why we continue to see entry level homes being built with granite counter-tops and nice solid hardwood flooring. Am I just stupid, or does that not add up to common sense? It is all people can do to afford an entry level home in many cases, so why the hell would they expect to get granite counter tops and nice flooring, and have to pay for it over thirty years? Call me crazy, but that, IMO, is just plain crazy.

The Real Estate market stopped "making sense" about 5 years ago. :dunno:

The SS appliances and GCT is to builders/flippers like undercoating and the side body stripe is to car dealers.

I guess one marketing ploy that can be used to push these over-priced houses is to say that the GCTs can serve double-duty as a tombstone once the poor overstretched homeowner drowns in debt.
 
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spinDrAtl

Beach Fanatic
Jul 11, 2005
367
2
The poor 'woe is me' overstretched homeowner has no one to blame but themselves (I make exception for something such as an unexpected job loss, however). Does anyone remember being the taught the difference between 'want' and 'need' when they were little? We could sit here and rant all day about keeping up with the Jones', and the instant gratification of credit cards, the internet, 24 hour new channels, and on and on. How about a little personal responsiblity for the choices one makes?

As someone said, if the buyers didn't want these things, you can bet they would not be there. I for one am not big on telling other people how to spend their money, intelligently, stupidly, or any other way.
 

30A Skunkape

Skunky
Jan 18, 2006
10,286
2,312
53
Backatown Seagrove
I think the constant image bombardment of top-of-the-line kitchens and baths on HGTV, etc has alot to do with this. The funny thing is, I have been in some new homes on the market in SOWAL, and while they had the stainless/granite kitchens, the overall craftsmanship stunk! Poorly finished moulding, poorly fit appliances, cheapie plastic doors, cheapie windows, etc, etc. And these WERE the entry level models( >300K, of course)! I guess being big and pretty on the surface is more profitable than modest and well-built:dunno:
 
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