I love this question, mostly because I find it fascinating to hear all of the varied answers.  And once you know the answer, it can help when it comes time to buy a home.  That being said, despite which style is your favorite, you can still end up buying a home that is not your favorite type. This happened to us when we first moved to Weston, MA.  We said that we wanted a colonial as that was our favorite style of home*, and then we found a ranch that was to die for.  We put in an offer immediately, bought it and happily started our lives in suburbia in our ranch-style home.

It turns out that where we live and/or where we grew up may be a big indicator of and have a strong influence on our favorite types of houses.  For those of us who live in New England, the most popular type of house is the traditional Colonial, followed by the Cape and after that – the Ranch, Contemporary and Antique, in no particular order.  At least that is what I had always heard.  Interestingly, the traditional Colonial is also the most prevalent type of house here.  So this makes sense…often when you are surrounded by a certain style of house, after time, it becomes what you are accustomed to and therefore also your favorite.

When I tried to find any analytics about types of homes online, I couldn’t.  And so I came up with my own research.  I searched all of the homes in the last year that sold in Weston, and then queried style of home.  Here is my data** based on the 111 properties that sold:

• 67 or 60.4% were Colonial homes
• 15 or 13.5% were Cape homes
• 12 or 10.8% were Ranch/Raised Ranch/Split-Level homes
• 10 or 9.0% were Contemporary homes
• 7 or 6.3% were Antique/Farmhouse/Victorian homes

I was amazed by the huge percentage of sales of Colonial homes as opposed to other styles of homes.  I always knew Colonials were the highest-selling type of home here, but wow.  Also interestingly, of the 30 homes that sold above $1,500,000, 27 or 90% were Colonial homes.  So in the higher price points, the style of home is even more overwhelmingly the Colonial home.

Ok, so back to the question at hand.  Which type of house is your favorite?  And in an attempt to make things easier, I have narrowed the home styles down to five – Colonial, Cape, Ranch, Contemporary and/or Antique.  I can’t wait to hear your thoughts….

* I still love Colonials, but I must say that after seeing and touring so many types of homes over the years, I have a sincere appreciation for all of the home styles.  They all have their positives – and drawbacks too.

** Based on information provided to and compiled by MLS Property Information Network, Inc. covering the period from 9/27/10 – 9/27/11. I also searched style of home information on sold homes in Weston from 9/27/09 – 9/27/10.  Click Solds – Style of Homes to see these results.

I am so curious to hear your thoughts on this….  I definitely have an opinion, and my answer is YES, there is such a thing as too many “For Sale” signs.  We know the value of having a “For Sale” yard sign.  According to the 2010 National Association of Realtors (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, here is a breakdown of the information sources buyers used in their home search:

• Internet: 74%
• Real estate agent: 69%
• Yard sign: 22%
• Open house: 12%
• Newspaper ad: 9%
• Home book or magazine: 6%

As you can see, yard signs are the third highest information source that buyers use in their home search process.  And yes, as discussed in my recent post, “To Sign or Not To Sign,” I think signage is important, especially if your home is on a well-travelled street.

That being said, there should really be a limit to the number of signs a home seller uses.  In my opinion, most homes should display one tasteful home “For Sale” sign.  And yet, if the property is on a corner, it is preferable to use two signs – one sign featured on one street and another sign featured on the other street.  This way you can capture the drivers and pedestrians on both streets.  Also if the property encompasses quite a bit of land, you can use two signs placed an adequate distance from one another to fully illustrate the land area of the property.

And that’s about it.  As I see it, two signs are basically the maximum number to display.  Otherwise, the property starts to look distasteful.  Furthermore, the overuse of signage may send the wrong message – that the home seller is desperate.  Look at the photo here – there are literally 10 signs (the photo doesn’t show all of them) marking the sale of and/or open houses for the property.  And to me, instead of being a turn on – making me want to turn in and view the property or look up its details online – it’s a turn off.

What are your thoughts about signage for the sale of a property?  Do you think that too many signs detract from the appeal of the property?  I can’t wait to hear….

It’s true…the final All My Children episode aired today, and now the famous soap opera is no longer…. The soap first aired in January 1970, and though I wasn’t watching then – and by the way, I was only 3 1/2 at the time so it would be really crazy if I was watching then – I was hooked soon thereafter.  I have been watching All My Children on and off since my teens – and so you do the math, or actually don’t.  The bottom line is that I’ve been watching it for a long, long time.

I have followed All My Kids – as we used to refer to it – throughout my life and the major milestones of my life.  One of my favorite memories about All My Children was watching it with my friends in the Senior Room when I was a senior in high school.   Then I taped it throughout college – before TIVO and DVRs – so you can see that I was a serious All My Children watcher/addict.  My friend, Lisa Lebow, and I used to watch it on our lunch breaks at college together; soaps are always fun to watch with friends.  And then when I graduated from college and was living in Boston and New York, I would tape it when I was at work and watch it when I got home in the evening.  I watched it after I had my children and was home for their naps.  I could go on and on….

My big crush on All My Children was Josh Duhamel, who played Leo du Pres.  I loved him.   Ryan (a.k.a. Cameron Mathison) wasn’t so bad either.  And then remember that Sarah Michelle Gellar was on it?  And Susan Lucci, or Erica Kane, of course.

Anyway, best of luck to the cast and crew of All My Children from an old-time(r) fan!  I will miss tuning in at 1 p.m. before the kids get off the school bus, and I am making a quick sandwich and can sneak in a few minutes of my all-time favorite soap.  Cheers, as they say!

How about you?  Were you a fan favorite of All My Children, and will you miss it too?  I can’t wait to hear…..

Time once again for my twice-monthly Pinnacle Report covering the Weston, MA real estate market, and the good news is that the Fall market seems to be here….

In the last two weeks in Weston, nine single-family homes came on the market and seven sold.* Given this healthy activity and the fact that our inventory (96) is increasing, it’s safe to say that the Fall market is here. Furthermore the activity is happening at a variety of price bands, which is positive market news. And although we had two properties priced over $3M sell* during these last two weeks, this was offset by 5 new/reactivated properties over $2.5M coming on to the market, and so our high-end properties still constitute approximately 30% of our listings.

To fully enjoy all of the market stats, please click Weston Pinnacle Report 9-5-2011-9-18-2011 for the details.

* Sold means “pending/under agreement” and not yet closed.