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REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
The Race for (More) Space
When it comes to new residential construction, size does indeed matter
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Business New Haven
9/20/1999
By: Sharon Cohen
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Bigger is better, at least for a growing number of homebuyers in New Haven County. Builders in such communities as Orange, Woodbridge and Hamden are quickly selling houses that fall in the 4,000- to 4,500- square-foot range. Even 5,000- to 7000-square-foot homes are becoming more common than ever.
The price for these homes range anywhere from $300,000 for 3,000 square feet to $1 million-plus for 5,000 square feet. Of course, the even larger homes go well past the million dollar mark.
Given the price, the homes offer considerable amenities to their new owners. John Cuozzo, co-owner of Press/Cuozzo Realtors in Hamden, explains that a $1 million new construction in Woodbridge boasts such features as four to five bedrooms; three to four baths (including master bath with a Jacuzzi that could easily accommodate ten of the owner's closest friends); a marble entranceway; a kitchen with custom solid wood cabinetry and granite counters; and, of course, a sweeping staircase.
Who are buying these homes? A variety of people. "Many of them are two-income families who are able to afford this style of living," says Frank D'Ostilio, president and broker in charge of William Orange Realty in Orange. A number of the homebuyers are "corporate business people transferring into the area, as well as locals who always wanted a new home."
"They are people in their 30s to 50s who have accumulated equity in their previous homes and want to buy up," adds Cuozzo.
Rhoda Winik, co-owner of Winik-Martin Real Estate in Branford, notes that the cost of the homes is well within the means of the buyers who have come to her firm. "They have good jobs, a lot of them in the high-tech industry," she explains. Some buyers are empty-nesters who like the additional space. Others need the extra square-footage for the lifestyle enjoyed by both themselves and their children.
Jere Garceau, president of Gateway Development in Woodbridge, has been building upper-end houses for the past 15 years. Presently his firm is constructing homes in Woodbridge, Bethany and North Haven that are about 5,000 square feet. This size abode is nothing new to Garceau, whose company was founded on the premise that square footage is all-important to the customer.
"Fifteen years ago, we saw what was happening in Madison and Guilford with the increasing size of homes and decided to follow suit in Woodbridge," Garceau recalls. And except for the slowdown of the market in the early 1990s, Gateway has had much success following this formula.
One of the homes Gateway is building in North Haven's Woodmere Circle development provides an example of what many people now expect in a house. The all-brick estate is designed to give an overall "Charleston" look.
There is a double staircase leading to the front door. Inside the marble foyer is a large circular staircase. There are two fireplaces in the dining room, and one in the two-story family room, living room, sunroom and master bedroom. The kitchen includes a brick pizza oven and wet bar. There are four bedrooms, one to be used as a home office and library. In the semi-finished basement is a wine cellar and exercise room. And the room above the garage will be used as a movie theater.
Much has changed in the past 50 years, says Bernie Barnett, owner of Cobblestone Builders in Hamden. When he first got into the home-building business in the late 1950s, a typical new home was 1,000 square feet. This included a living room, but no family room or den - TV was in its infancy and few imagined the revolution right around the corner. Barnett built his split-levels and raised ranches for about $18,000.
According to Barnett, in the late 1960s to early 1970s, houses were already starting to grow. The average size of a two-story colonial was 1,600 to 1,800 square feet. And now this did include a family room, since the TV had become the center of family home life. At the time, such houses in the area were running about $55,000.
In the late 1970s to early '80s, the houses continued to expand to about 2,100 square feet and prices were going as high as $125,000. "Then prices skyrocketed in the mid-1980s before the recession," says Barnett. "And demand was tremendous." At the time he was building houses that averaged 2,800 square feet and ran as much as $300,000.
By the early to mid-1990s another "appliance" had begun to be as important as the television. The computer had become a must-have fixture that often needed a room of its own. Soon homebuyers were looking for additional space for a study or home office - a need that definitely continues today.
Indeed, now many home buyers - especially two-income families - want a separate office for each computer. They appreciate the privacy that the individual rooms allow. And with increasing opportunities to work off-site, more and more people require an office away from the office.
The demand for these "special needs" rooms has burgeoned over the past several years. Just look at what television has done to housing requirements. What do you do when a household has four or five televisions and everyone wants to watch something different? Put the sets in different rooms, of course.
And what about the large-screen TVs, which require a room of their own? Some homeowners are putting their "theaters" in the space above the three-car garage.
That's because more and more homes are putting in three-car garages. The extra space allows for the riding lawn mower, bicycles, outdoor toys, ladder, tools and other miscellany that often crowd a garage. It also provides additional space for the car of an overnight or weekend visitor. Some houses, in fact, are being built with four bays to account for the children's or in-laws' automobiles.
Keeping fit is also important in many of today's households. A number of these larger homes have a "gym" in a separate room or in a finished basement. In other cases, the exercise equipment is kept in the oversized family room or master bedroom.
And many times, especially with children in the house, there are two family rooms plus perhaps a bonus room so everyone - young and old - has a place to go for entertainment and/or working out.
Owners of these houses say that they are making good use of their extra space. But exactly how this space is being used varies according to the particular needs of those living in the house.
Winik says that many prospective homebuyers come to her real estate office after evaluating the space needs for their families. They know how much extra footage they require and for what purpose - be it an extra bedroom for the au pair for the newborn, guestroom(s) for the grandchildren's visits, or an in-law apartment. "It's very individualized and based on the buyer's lifestyle," adds Winik.
Barnett says he just doesn't know how people are using so much room. "It boggles my mind," he acknowledges. "Families are getting smaller and houses are getting larger. Just recently I sold a 3,500-square-foot house to a single man. He loves all that extra space." Barnett then laughs and admits that in 1965 he built his family its own 4,000-square-foot house. "Who am I to talk?"
As for the future, 4,000-square-foot homes may indeed become the norm. And if history repeats itself, the average size of a house will continue to climb upward. After all, each person in a household is going to need a separate room for projecting his or her combined large screen TV, video-game console and Internet entertainment center.
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