Lake Vista’s Ranch Model Roping In Younger Crowd

ELGIN, IL, October 25 - Don't bet the ranch that only aging Boomers are driving the revival of this practical and convenient home style. It turns out that young first-time buyers are also embracing the single-story ranch home.

That's especially the case at Lake Vista, an exclusive enclave of 29 large and luxurious single-family homes being built by Grand Pointe Homes in suburban Lake Villa. "Of the seven models we're offering at Lake Vista, the only ranch-the Scottsdale-attracts a generous portion of the traffic, with most of it being younger families who have never owned before," said Scott Ballard, Director of Sales and Marketing for the West Dundee-based Grand Pointe. "They love the compact convenience of everything being on one floor. It's easier to keep an eye on the small kids, for one thing."

Extending 2,100 square feet, the Scottsdale contains three bedrooms and two full baths. Its spacious family room flows into a formal dining room and its kitchen links into a charming dinette for everyday eating. Standard features include a front porch, a welcoming foyer, a three-car garage, a full basement, and a 90-percent high efficiency furnace. Like that of most traditional ranches, the layout in the Scottsdale is pleasingly open-especially to the outside. The home looks out into a peaceful and private wooded area. The price for all this ranges from only $379,900 to $387,900, and that's before you apply Grand Pointe's savings incentive program.

For a little more money, buyers can add their own personality to the home through upgrades such as bay windows, skylights, built-in entertainment centers, cathedral ceilings in master bedrooms, and-even-raised-platform Roman tubs in master baths. "Buyers have the flexibility to essentially put their family's personal stamp on their new home," said Ballard.

Distinctive style isn't confined to just the inside of the Scottsdale. The exteriors can encompass covered entries, shutters and coordinating trim, archways, coach lights, and decorative windows such as transoms, half-rounds, and palladians. Furthermore, Grand Pointe offers a variety of colors and materials (including brick, siding, and Dryvit) to help create diverse streetscapes and pleasing curb appeal.

"The appointments of the Scottsdale and the other homes are so exceptional that-when completed-the Lake Vista will almost seem like a community of custom homes. And that fact will appeal to not only younger buyers but downsizers and other types of buyers as well," said Ballard.

To see a Lake Vista model, take 294 to Grand Avenue, exit and head west to the sales center, which is located two blocks east of Route 83. For more information about the homes, call 847-356-8600, or you can go here.

Submitted 10/25/2007