house layouts in DFW?

[Jebs87]

I'd assume it depends on what neighborhood you live in. I know most homes are newer in DFW compared to other large metro areas and it seems it is a trend for newer houses to have a master bedroom down. My house has all bedrooms up, including the master, and I think it is pretty common for my neighborhood (75208).

[Austrian2]

My new house has master suit and guest suit downstairs but my first house had a master suit upstairs with children's bedrooms and guest suit was downstairs. We look at houses as homes and match with our lifestyle instead of finding a perfect house for next buyer or our future selves, hardly anyone grows old in the same house where they brought their babies.

[PlanoGirl]

Sometimes people need help "seeing" the vision. I remember when we were house hunting, one home had little notes around the home pointing out various features and highlighting benefits of the space. I thought it was very clever, as it helped paint a picture of what it would be like to live there. Maybe you could point out some of the benefits you mentioned in your post the same way.

I agree with above poster about making sure the description is right. Buyers are short-sighted...if they walk in expecting one thing, and it's something different...they will most likely move on without even stopping to consider if the "different" is actually better. So better prep beforehand will help. That way buyers who ARE looking for a house like yours can narrow in on it more quickly. Personally, I would have loved the layout of your house when my kids were very young. So, I think it's just targeting the right audience.

Also, are there other elements that might deter buyers?...Busy street? Needs lot of updating? Decor/paint is very style specific? School not great? etc.

[ThomasCrown]

Originally Posted by train_mom

Just wondering as we are in the process of trying to sell our home in McKinney. most houses in our neighborhood (all 5-10 years old, in $300-450k range) are being snapped up like hotcakes

Whereas ours is priced to sell... (it is technically a 1.5 story)

There's your problem... A home in that price range should be a true two story with more space. While you say your house is priced to sell, you need to consider your layout as a detractor vs other homes in the neighborhood and price accordingly... probably needs to be below the average $/sqft of the rest of the neighborhood.

Having the master down is good, but not absolutely necessary. Our last home had the master up and we had several people interested and several offers, so my guess is that it's the 1.5 story that's turning people off.

[Beardown91737]

We are 2014 transplants from the west, and previously lived in the Chicago area. Having a downstairs master is something that we had not heard of before this area. We have relatives who owned newer houses in Arizona, with the bedrooms upstairs. In California we were told that single story houses got a premium because of the aging population not wanting to walk up stairs. This was a factor even in the 1990s.

Here, we considered a downstairs master bizarre, and a deal breaker. I will agree with two things previously said. First, if your kids are young, you want to be near them. If they are older, you want to supervise them. Second, we are empty nesters now, so if the master is downstairs, then the entire second floor is unused.

We wound up in a two story townhouse with all bedrooms upstairs. We had lived in a single story home in California since 1991, so now in our late 50s, we are climbing stairs. We like the layout and sure don't want to be old enough for the stairs to intimidate us.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by Beardown91737

Here, we considered a downstairs master bizarre, and a deal breaker. .

That's OK as long as you understand the Master Upstairs in most (Non-starter) Family homes is a deal breaker for most people here in TX. Those homes can be on the market 2-3 times longer and go for less. For empty nesters, it means not having to AC the 2nd floor as much thus using less energy.

Townhomes are a different story. Most of their Masters are on the 2nd or 3rd story due to space limitation.