Dreaming of home

The real estate market's ongoing thaw means a flood of houses on the market and, for the first time in years, buyers who can take time to be picky about where they'll put down roots. Their expectations are high, padded with hopes for the latest in technology, building materials and high-class touches, from eco-friendly flooring to closets fit for Imelda Marcos' shoe collection.

Real estate observers say kitchens remain the most important factor in how people select homes. Even those who aren't cooks appreciate the cachet that an updated kitchen brings to a home. But the early 2000s trend toward all-white kitchens and counters topped with Corian has petered out, replaced by a lust for the sparkle of granite and the sheen of stainless steel appliances.

The master bedroom is no longer defined strictly as the room that's the largest. In addition to a grand master bathroom, home seekers often want an elaborate "master suite" or "owner's suite" with an attached sitting room or dressing area, plus luxe, custom closets. In the Charleston area, new home builders often trumpet this setup even in townhouse complexes.

"People want that serenity and that calmness away from the world," says Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, a Charleston-based consumer behavior marketing company.

Often, the outside of a house matters just as much as the inside, with features way beyond a nicely groomed lawn and some pretty flowers. Buyers today often demand outdoor living spaces outfitted with built-in grills and refrigerators, sinks and granite countertops, and maybe even a brick oven for taking baking back to nature.

Beemer says those upscale attributes came out on top in recent home-buying surveys that his firm conducted.

"It's, 'Is there a pool?' 'Is it landscaped?' " Beemer says. "It's all those things that go with that. There's the romance with the outdoor living."

Sellers needn't feel compelled to gussy up their yard quite that much, but Realtors say sellers should know that a screen porch, at the very least, is key.

"If it doesn't have a screened porch on the back of the house, buyers don't want it," says Anton Roeger, a real estate agent with Keller Williams in Mount Pleasant.

In cold-weather climates, buyers, especially retiring baby boomers, want amenities such as heated walkways and driveways to cut down on the labor of shoveling snow. A heated porch can also add extra living space during the winter months.

Mark Nash, a Chicago-based real estate author who tracks market trends, has named "sustainable design," an energy-saving, conservationist approach to living, as a top quality for today's buyers. "Structured wiring" that allows owners to tap into the latest in computer, cable and video technology is also a strong selling point.

Sellers whose houses feature an older floor plan in which the living spaces are broken up into small, defined compartments — kitchen, dining room, living room — might find their domicile a tough sell to buyers who've come to expect flowing "great rooms," where members of the family can cook, eat, work and play within earshot. At the same time, Nash notes that spaces for "caving," personal spots for different members of the family to pursue individual hobbies, from scrapbooking to being a football superfan, are also hot.

Copious storage to hold and hide the American family's ever-expanding empire of possessions is another item high on buyers' lists, Beemer says. They want giant, customized closets and garages decked out like showrooms, with decorative flooring and built-in shelving to hold tools, sports equipment and out-of-season holiday decorations.

Even though the local market is crammed with houses for sale — some 10,000 of them in the tri-county area as of last month — those who aren't building their dream home from scratch might still have to give up a few line items on their wish list, especially when it comes to areas filled with older homes.

For instance, a 1970s kitchen might be a deal-breaker for a buyer if renovation costs seem too steep, but many buyers are open to paying for ho-hum closets to be turned into smart organizational spaces, or to drop a new vanity into a fading bathroom. "Eventually," Roeger says, "they realize they have to go with what's available and what's the best choice from that, and plan to make a few different upgrades."

Reach Holly Auer at 937-5560 or hauer@postandcourier.com.