What factors give a home real appeal and value?

What factors give a home real appeal and value?

Many years experience in marketing residential property  and advising property developers have taught him that the public often have the wrong ideas about what factors will make a home valuable and sought after five, ten or more years down the line, says Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property.

"As we all know," he says, "certain homes have an immediate WOW impact on the visitor-- and the more I see of homes put up for sale, the more I am convinced that this is due to good design, not to such extraneous factors as size, expensive finishes and an opulent atmosphere. These can in fact detract from the home's appeal and value. What really counts is the use of space, the home's "flow" from one area to another, its orientation and its relationship to its outdoor space."

On a recent visit to an upmarket gated estate which is selling steadily and still achieving good prices, said Alexander, he was allowed to inspect two homes, one with 600m2 of floor space on three levels and one with 400m2 on one level. The larger home "dominated" its plot and was taken very close to its boundaries on all sides; the smaller home had  an "open" ambience and connected easily with its garden areas and outdoors on three sides which were given attractive landscaping and plants. This home also made clever use of natural lighting and extensive floor to ceiling glazing to open itself to its surroundings--whereas the larger home had a "closed in" feel, looked inwards rather than outwards and had to make ample use of sophisticated lighting.

"As one would expect on a large home of the kind  I am describing, a small fortune had been spent on lavish, manufactured  finishes and fittings such as the kitchen and bathroom hardware, counter tops, cupboard fascias and  floor coverings-but these only emphasized the owner's lack of good taste and his desire to impress. The smaller home, by way of contrast, had simple natural finishes which were not as expensive but imparted a comfortable, homely and relaxed feel to the interiors."

Alexander said that he would "lay his head on the block" that a decade from now the smaller home will have appreciated faster than the larger one.

So-what advice does he have for those able and willing to commission their own homes and home designs?

"No matter how certain you are that you understand architectural matters and interior design, be humble enough appoint an architect who has proved himself in design circles-and don't try to influence him too much. Good architects, like good estate agents, are expensive-they have no need to cut fees. But the final product will always be worth the extra expenditure. Bear in mind that, as  in human relationships, perceptive people will detect any false notes, any attempt to show off by means of your home-and will dislike it for that reason. Good designers make the most of the budget and site at their disposal. Bad designers try to improve what they are given by stamping it with their personality-and this almost invariably costs the client a great deal of money. The tragedy is that certain clients will have the same mindset as the architect out to impress. As a result, we see far too many kitsch, nouveau riche homes springing up in our upmarket suburbs. If only people would follow the lead given 30 years ago by such architects as Norman Eaton, Revel Fox and Machiek Misewski we would see more homes with the WOW factor-and they would be less costly."

For further information, contact Rowan Alexander on 082 581 3116 or via email : rowan@asproperty.co.za