Martha Stewart Homes Selling Like Hotcakes
categories: New Construction
Just an update on Martha Stewart since my earlier post: She is out of jail, but I guess that is old news.
What might not be widely known is that since getting out she has been busy selling houses. Well, that is not entirely accurate. The name “Martha Stewart” has been selling the homes along with the KB Homes sales staff at the Wynchase subdivision in Woodstock.
For all I know, she already does this, but Martha Stewart should market and sell pancake batter too. That’s because the homes in Wynchase are selling like hotcakes. Since March when they started selling Phase 1, thirty-three of fifty-four homes have been sold. No homes are completed yet, although a half dozen or so are under construction. The first closing is not scheduled until August.
Prices are going up, too. Since March, there have been three price increases already. The 3,616 square foot floorplan started at $275,000 as the base price and today is listed at $293,990. Fully appointed, this floorplan will wind up costing you between $400-$450k. Buyers spend about 20% of the base price on upgrades - and upgrades there are.
I’m not blown away by the aesthetics of the neighborhood, at least to start. After all, these are mass production homes built by a high volume builder. However, I’m sure that once the neighborhood is built out and matures it will be quite nice. There are some big power lines that run through the neighborhood that aren’t going anywhere. Plus, in Phase 1 there are only four basement lots, which is too bad because basements make a home much more valuable, let alone livable.
In this marriage between KB and Martha, KB clearly married up. The interior designs, floorplans (each plan is modeled after one of Stewart’s actual homes) and upgrades available make what might be ordinary houses pop. Walking into one is just like opening the cover of the Martha Stewart magazine: Clean, crisp design and great colors. How do you describe that look without using the words Martha Stewart in the description? You can’t. It is just like chicken tastes like, well, chicken. Martha Stewart designs looks like, well, Martha Stewart. And customers are eating it up, I’m sure to KB’s delight.
Some of the things I noticed, and remember I’m a man and only supposed to notice the yard, basement and number of cars you can fit in the garage, included the tub sinks in the bathrooms and the thick white balusters on the stair railing. While most high-end builders are using iron balusters, Martha has reverted back to white, albeit a thicker, heavier white for more substance that the typical ones you find in fifteen year old homes.
Also in white are the kitchen cabinets. No where else do you see white cabinets in a 2007 home. Everyone says they want cherry and maple cabinets and that white cabinets are passe. Not Martha. When accompanied by dark counters, dark floors and stainless hardware, fixtures and appliances, the feeling you get is not that you’re in a hospital, but rather inside the pages of her magazine.
All I know is that my wife would love it and we all understand the balance of power between the genders in the home selection process. Good move KB; you have a true product differentiator in Martha.
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