Three keys to street appeal

A survey of 20,000 prospective house buyers found that "Neighborhood Street Appeal" ranked number two on the list of important features, just below "Better Location," according to Housing Perspectives email newsletter by James Wentling Architects. There are three keys to achieving street appeal, Wentling says. The first is "garage mitigation," which means putting the garage on a back alley — or, if that's not possible, setting it back from the front door. "Locating the garage in the back of the lot is by far the most powerful way to enhance the street appeal of a neighborhood," Wentling says. The second key is "entry articulation," which can be achieved through a well-designed front porch, a feature that is becoming more popular. With or without a porch, "the entry should be clearly defined on the front elevation," Wentling says. Finally, the facade elements, especially windows and doors, should be well-ordered visually, which he called "elevation organization." These three approaches, used in traditional neighborhood developments for the last two decades, will factor prominently in homes sales as the market recovers. It is hoped that they will be combined with planning for mixed-use and walkability.

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