President Trump and Congress and their trials and tribulations are taking up a big chunk of everyone’s time these days. We are going back and forth, with dozens of polls concerning “who is doing better,” “who is doing worse,” “what is going to be,” and “what happens if?” So I decided to add to the pile of worthless polls and present you with my Purim poll of what the latest buyers seem to desire in their quest for that new home. Real or fake news? You decide!
Rather than divide them into “price ranges” and “first-time homebuyer,” I am going to list some of the items that seem to be the most popular on that must-have list, and make a second list of “don’t seem to need that at all” just for the fun of it.
The following requests have made the top-ten list of young buyers in the Five Towns this year:
- Our new house must be between Central Avenue and Peninsula Blvd.
- We are looking for a starter house with a king-size, new, kosher, eat-in kitchen with double of everything, and a finished basement with at least one extra bedroom and full bath.
- We are looking for a starter house and we must have at least four bedrooms on one floor—and a bathroom in the master bedroom, of course.
- We do not mind doing some work. What kind of work, you ask? We do not mind painting and changing a piece of carpeting.
- They request to be shown a “handyman’s special” house and then, having seen the handyman special, exclaim, “Boy, it sure needs a lot of work; do you have anything else that doesn’t need so much work?”
- We want an updated or new center-hall colonial in Cedarhurst, Woodmere, or Lawrence, secluded, with lots of property . . . but it should be a five-minute walk to shul.
- We want an updated four-bedroom, three-bath colonial, walking distance to all the shuls, in the mid-$700s range. Please set up 20 appointments to show us this Sunday so we may begin our search.
- We are looking for a house in Woodmere Park, but only with a finished basement.
- Can you show us a house that was missed by the tax assessor and still has low taxes like they have in Far Rockaway?
- I hear all the housing prices are dropping and they are giving them away; can you show me a new-construction, five-bedroom, 3.5-bath house with a big backyard and finished basement? I am willing to spend in the low $600s and have already been qualified and can close immediately.
- We want a house in North Woodmere where the homeowners will be happy to take less for a nice frum couple just starting out.
- Can you show us a house in North Woodmere that is out of the flood zone and does not need flood insurance?
- We want a house walking distance to the train, but we do not want to hear the train whistle from our new home.
Here is the “Don’t seem to need that at all” list. This is one that surprises me since I think there is really a lot of nifty stuff on here, although the new buyers really aren’t that interested.
- In-ground swimming pools have become very unpopular with young buyers.
- Central vacuum-cleaner system—uncharted territory.
- For some reason, the men are interested in the garages and the women don’t even go inside to look at them. (This is a large percentage, not everyone.)
- Window treatments, not including mini-blinds.
- Patios—the new young buyers all want lots of grass with a wood deck.
- Screened-in porches—buyers always seem to discuss how to close them up and create one more room.
- Backyard ponds and fountains—buyers prefer space for more grass.
- Corner properties
- Outdoor barbecue areas
- Too much shade
Remember, this is a silly poll that does not reflect the choices and needs of all buyers, just a percentage of them, but I thought it would be fun to share!
Anessa Cohen lives in Cedarhurst and is a licensed real-estate broker (Anessa V Cohen Realty) and a licensed N.Y.S. loan officer (FM Home Loans) with over 20 years of experience offering full-service residential, commercial, and management real-estate services as well as mortgage services. She can be reached at 516-569-5007 or via her website, www.AVCrealty.com. Readers are encouraged to send questions or comments to anessa@AVCrealty.com.
