OK, by now you’ve probably mowed your lawn at least once. And just maybe you’ve noticed the house needs a fresh coat of paint. Oh, and those shingles that blew off during one of the winter storms, need to be fixed.
If you’d rather be spending weekends kicking-back or on the golf course, then perhaps it’s time to consider a lifestyle change to condo living.
But wait you say … we have all this furniture and we still want the kids to come home for holiday events.
Relax! Condos are no longer small converted rental townhouses with paper thin walls. Builders knew the empty-nesters didn’t want to give up their big rooms or decorating luxuries just to avoid exterior maintenance. Now you can buy large condos built specifically to address this consumer market.
Beginning this weekend, April 26, through May 4, the Building Industry Association (BIA) will hold their CondoQuest to showcase participating builder’s new-build condo complexes. Most likely, other currently-owned condos that are for sale will have open houses as well.
The Powell area has many such luxury condos available for sale – both new and resale. They are priced in the $300’s to high $400’s. For the above ground living space, they range from 1900 sqft to 3000 sq ft. Their price may or may not include a finished lower level. This is particularly true for the new-builds.
Here’s a chart that shows the condos that are currently for sale in the Powell area (near Sawmill Pkwy) and what size of home you might expect for the various price ranges:
| Price Range | # For Sale | Avg Size | Avg Price | $/sq ft |
| $100’s | 26 | 1559 | $178,094 | $116 |
| $200’s | 29 | 1997 | $248,833 | $127 |
| $300’s | 16 | 2539 | $342,563 | $139 |
| $400’s | 7 | 2648 | $453,720 | $175 |
If you specifically want a large luxury condo with a finished basement for additional entertaining, then you currently have 9 homes to select from in the Powell area. They average around 2800 sq ft at an average price of $432,293. However, I must caution you in that the sq ft provided in the Board’s MLS system sometimes includes the finished basement and sometimes doesn’t.
I have a luxury condo for sale that offers 2750 sq ft above ground and an additional 1000 sq ft in the lower level. It’s priced at $409,900. Sometimes during open houses I’ve had guests mention that they can buy another similar sized condo for much less money. However, as we chat, I learn that it is a new-build where the finished basement ISN’T included in the base price they were quoted. Or we may determine that the sq ft includes the finished basement, meaning that the above ground living space can be quite small – less than 2000 sq ft.
So, it’s important to make sure you compare apples-to-apples, and relying on the MLS data or info on the Internet, is not very accurate. The upgrades included or as options differ quite a bit as well.
This weekend’s CondoQuest will give you a good opportunity to make all those comparisons for yourself. Be sure to include my listing at 7979 Hillingdon in the Village at Kinsale on your tour. It’s located off Sawmill Pkwy, just north of Rutherford Rd. It will be open both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
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Elaine Reese
614-825-8860Real Living HER379 W Olentangy StPowell Ohio 43065
Assisting home sellers and buyers throughout Central Ohio in achieving their dreams.
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