Are you ready to purchase a new house? How exciting! There are certainly a lot of boxes to check off, no matter what your personal needs and wants are. It needs to be near your work place and the kids’ school. You may want a pool, or at the very least a great outdoor living area. But stop and think for a minute about the house itself. How big does it need to be?
As you begin your search to see what is currently for sale in the Southwest Florida real estate market, you will no doubt realize that houses come in all sizes. Even a three bedroom, two bathroom home can vary in actual square footage from another with the same amount of rooms. And while it may not seem like it on paper, a 1,300 square foot home and a 1,900 square foot home will feel very different when your furniture is moved inside. So, the question becomes- what’s the right size for you?
Consider the next few years. Each family has a unique situation. Some families are planning on “expanding”, others are static for the next few years, and some are growing smaller as teenagers go off to college. You don’t necessarily need a five bedroom home if you’ll be empty nesters in three years, and you don’t want to lock yourself into a house that’s already cramped if you plan on adding more family members. Be sure to look at your family’s next few years before choosing a house; it needs to be right for the future, not just now.
Look beyond the number of bedrooms. Let’s say you have a family of five, a four bedroom home is perfect for you, right? Not if you work from home and need an office, or would like to have a playroom for the kids. You may need a four bedroom with a den, or a five bedroom instead. You may even find one with large enough bedrooms that a three bedroom home works.
Look at the year the home was built. Houses built a few decades ago are not like the brand-new construction homes going up now. For one, the master suites and other bedrooms are typically much smaller. They also may not be built with an “open concept” that makes even a smaller home more spacious. A new home that is smaller in square footage may actually feel larger than a bigger, but older home.
Bigger isn’t always better. If you think you should just buy the biggest house you can afford, take a step back for a moment. Smaller houses are more affordable to keep cool, furnish with nice things, and easier to clean. Given those tradeoffs and the obvious allure of a larger home, how much square footage do you really want? The answer is likely to be more about your actual lifestyle than the exact square footage.
Consider building. Don’t see anything that’s perfect for your family? No problem! You don’t need to buy a house that’s already built when it’s so easy to go through Beattie Development and build your dream home. Our RRB Collection is regularly adding new models and starts at just $178,900!
The average size of new homes built in the United States grew 62% from 1,660 square feet in 1973 to 2,687 square feet in 2015, an increase of 1,027 square feet, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Have you ever considered how much house you need? Beattie’s New Home Sales Team can help you answer this question, and many others. Reach out to us today at (239) 980-4730 or go to https://www.beattiedev.com/contact-us/ to begin!