KB Home’s Brandon Burgess and Kristin Smith can already see the pattern of where apartment rents are headed in Denver from the buyers who are touring their new paired home models at South Dayton Street and Florida Avenue, 1 mile south of Lowry. The market’s swung decidedly in favor of the people who get the checks rather than those who write them. “My rent just went up $200,” one woman shopper told the pair this week.
That’s created a sense of urgency among some buyers who are touring KB Home’s two models at Parkside Villas. “Paired homes are a design that few buyers have ever seen before,” says Matt Mandino, Colorado Division president for KB Home. “Even when you have models that look infinitely better than a 20- or 30 year-old apartment, people still want to see how that neighborhood will look, how the homes will group together, how the attached garages will fit. Once people see that, they realize how a paired home complements a busy lifestyle.”
This weekend, you can see all of those pieces coming into play – the model homes, but also other homes that KB Home has nearing completion, on track to deliver around the holidays.
You can see the bright, sharp-looking interiors and learn about the energy-efficient design (estimated average bills on a 1,682-square-foot Willow plan plus basement and two-car garage are only $82, air conditioning included). Burgess and Smith will go over how the monthly payments to own one of these would compare to what residents in the area are paying these days to rent: buyers reporting around $1,500 to $1,600 for a two-bedroom; as much as $1,800 to $2,000 for some.
That’s not figuring in how much more you could get with one of these paired homes, over what apartments offer – including a private side yard for gardening or barbecuing or letting your dog out – spaces that few apartments or townhomes offer. Burgess notes that all of his buyers – not just renters, but people who have owned homes for years – like the low-maintenance-living aspect: front-yard landscape and snow removal for an HOA currently at $95, way below what many condo owners pay now. You can also tour a Spruce – three bedrooms, main-floor study and 21/2 baths, plus full basement and two-car garage, that KB Home could have you inside in time to put up a Christmas tree – priced at $302,558.
Parkside Villas’ models are right at South Dayton Street and Florida Avenue. From Denver, take Florida Avenue east from Parker Road/Leetsdale .7 miles; or from Aurora, take Parker Road west to Dayton Street, north 6 blocks.
Mark Samuelson writes on real estate and business; you can email him at mark@samuelsonassoc.com.You can see all of Mark Samuelson’s columns at DenverPost.com/RealEstate. Follow Mark Samuelson on Twitter: @marksamuelson
if you go
WHERE: Parkside Villas by KB Home, Energy Star 3-rated paired home; two furnished models; all with full basement option and attached two-car garage, one home for preholiday move-in. 1505 S. Dayton St. at East Florida Avenue, Denver; from Parker Road/Leetsdale, take Florida east .7 miles; or from Aurora, take Parker Road west to Dayton Street, north 6 blocks
PRICE: From $250s, quick move-in $302,558
WHEN: Today and Sunday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
PHONE: 303-323-1194
WEB:
