Parade of Homes

I love houses. It’s what led me to get my real estate license. Ever since I was little I loved to look through those HOMES books when we would go out to eat. I did my senior project on Real Estate. I have been going to Parade of Homes since even before high school when I lived in Morganton. I love to see the floorplans and the neat little features builders incorporate into new homes. I love to see the staging and decorations and upgrades in these “cream of the crop” picks.

Sunday we went to tour some of the Parade Homes here in Wake County. I liked this year because the homes we looked at were more within dream range. We looked at everything from a $200K townhouse to homes is the $500K-$600K range. We didn’t see any million dollar homes this year, but I am ok with that because really, I don’t think I will ever get to live in a million dollar home. I can stretch my mind to think maybe if I work REALLY hard and maybe triple my salary and marry REALLY well I might be able to afford a $400K-$500K home one day. (average homes around here are more in the $200K range)

One of the hottest things this year-- MUDROOMS!:

I LOVE mudrooms or little built-ins right by the door to organize all the things you and your family take with you every day. I imagine a day when I will ban shoes inside my house and have baskets or cubbies for my family (if I ever have one) and their shoes and bookbags. Mudroom built-ins are just so cute and functional.

One house also had an AMAZING closet. It looked something like this but better:

It was connected to the master bath on one side and the laundry room on the other. I think that is so functional!

Other things that seemed to be popular were:

Really open floorplans- kitchens/den/breakfast nooks that are completely connected
Screened-in porches
Front porches
Hardwoods laid on the diagonal
Decorating touches in orange
Small or non-existent yards
Garages on the side or in the back of the house

There were 2 houses that I really loved and only one I really didn’t like. I love the rocking chair front porches. I love the rich wide plank hardwoods. I love the granite. I love the fireplaces. I love the jack-n-jill bathrooms. I love the first floor masters. I love the open floor plans. I hate the small yards and your neighbors being 6 feet away, but if I could afford a house that nice, I think I would be able to deal with it!

I really should have taken some pictures to share with y'all!

We only got to see a small selection of the houses so maybe I will have some free time later this month to go explore some more! The homes are open the next 2 weekends from noon-5pm.

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