KB Home’s paired homes to open from $450s

There are lots of reasons why buyers like new homes over older resale homes — including the newer feel of the spaces, better technology, and a warranty on the systems. But in Boulder County right now, a new home might deliver a better value on the basic cost-per-foot — something you can find out about at a preview that KB Home is holding in Longmont for its paired-home villas, opening soon.

KB Home’s paired home designs—two homes paired together with something of the look of a single home—have been fast sellers all over the Denver-Boulder area, including just east of Boulder in Erie. Now at a moment when the median-price resale home in Boulder County is around $620,000, KB Home is bringing that collection to Longmont’s Prairie Village neighborhood, off Highway 66 a mile east of Main Street—close to Rough & Ready Park and the city’s Ute Creek Golf Course.

A quick glance at Zillow or Redfin will show VERY little inventory for sale in Longmont; with a 48-year-old single-family 4-bedroom/3-bath home listing at just under $600,000, while agents are reporting bidding wars that can easily drive a final sale price higher than that.

KB Homes has opened an information center at Prairie Village Villas this month (final prices haven’t been announced yet), and you’ll likely find a 1,463-foot 3-bedroom/2-1/2 bath home priced from the mid-$400s; and a 1,963 sq. foot plan, with main-floor study and a big loft/playroom/homework area matched to its three upstairs bedrooms, from around $500,000.

All of those paired plans have reasonably priced options to include a basement, and to have that added space finished now as a fourth bedroom/bath and recreation area—meaning you could take one of these plans and have that as a 4-bedroom/4-bath home, with well over 2,500 feet of finished space, for a price in the low $500s; around a hundred thousand dollars less than the median home in the county.

That size/value possibility is in addition to all of the features buyers get from one of these that just aren’t available in older houses; including the wider, open kitchen-dining areas; and energy and water conservation features that KB Home has certified by a third-party inspector to meet or beat Energy Star and EPA’s WaterSense standards.

In Plan 1963, the largest one, KB Home estimates that the energy savings alone could amount to around $1,200/year over a comparably sized home built decades ago.

The way to check out the possibilities is by visiting KB Home’s on-site sales center, close to where its models will open next month. Miguel Escudero and Gina Gaytan will put you on a reservation list for the earliest pricing as that’s released.

They’ll also show you the attached 2-car garages, and the private side yard that every home will have—a fenced-in place for a garden, barbecue, or for your labradoodle to wander. You’ll see a lower-maintenance landscape design to cut down on your watering and trimming tasks; and the low HOA fee, projected to be just $55/month, will cover maintenance and snow removal of the common areas.

Best yet, no bidding is required.

To reach, take I-25 north from E-470/Northwest Parkway to Highway 66 and head west to Alpine Street. Or if you’re coming from Boulder, take the Diagonal north nine miles to Hover Street in Longmont, head north four miles to Hwy 66, and turn east a mile-and-a-half.

The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this post’s preparation.