Valley Homes and Style - Simply Elegant Mid-Priced Mid-Century Homes

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Simply Elegant Mid-Priced Mid-Century Homes

If you find one, and it's in mint condition, you've found a gem.

The classic 1960s brick ranch home set the standard for suburban living, at a time when Americans were seeking their little patch of front lawn and some spacious indoor quarters. Characterized by solid construction and easy utility, these homes often included full basements that were finished as "rumpus rooms," with wood paneling and variegated linoleum tile floors.

These days, what's old is new again. With new-home sales slumping, prices descending and banks foreclosing, buyers are looking to maximize value.

Mid-century homes, in established neighborhoods with mature trees and stable communities, are becoming the mid-priced choice in a slow market.

At least according to some realtors.

In Winchester, Kathye Stratton bases a good portion of her business on finding mid-century homes and making them appealing to 21st century buyers. Working with her is Wayne Wright, a contractor whose updates bring new interest to older homes.

"I do ten or twelve a year," Wright said. "It only takes us ten to fifteen minutes, once we're in a house, to decide if it's worth pursuing."

Often built with electric baseboard heating and without air conditioning, mid-century homes can be retrofitted with HVAC components and more fully insulated for efficiency. Other adaptations include adding or enlarging bathrooms and in homes with basements, moving utility areas upstairs to relocate washers and dryers.

The basic bones of these homes are so good, they are worth working with.

"The newer houses are not built with the quality of materials," Wright said. "These use full two-by-fours, not an inch and a half by three and a half, like these days."

And underfoot, you usually find oak. "The quality of these hardwood floors, you can't buy nowadays," Wright said.

Across the United States, architectural preservationists are seeking historic status for tract neighborhoods of post-war homes. Their aim is to show the sustainability of classic design, and decry the wastefulness of tear-downs that destroy usable architecture.

"A huge amount of building took place after the Second World War," said James Massey, principal of Massey Maxwell Associates, a historic preservation firm in Strasburg, Va. "It was a very creative period in the modern aspect and in mass housing. It brought new materials and simplicity to the construction process."

And practicality, as well. "This is the house I raised my family in," said Massey Maxwell Principal Shirley Massey, of the brick ranch home her family moved into in 1963.

"It's an open plan, picture window in the front, sliding glass doors in the back. It was a wonderful way to raise a family."

Older homes exhibit economies that newer styles do not. You'll never find a traditional ranch with a two-story foyer that draws warm air and traps it in unusable space. You won't find one that puts the kids' bedrooms on a different floor than the parents'.

Functional, yes, but also simply elegant. "They have some charm to them that you don't see in newer subdivisions," Stratton said.

Now, as the population ages, the concept of a standard home with the bedrooms, living room and kitchen all on a single story is gaining new popularity. "They're manageable houses," Massey said.

"Even though it's a really slow market, these homes are selling," said Stratton. "The construction of the homes of that era is that they're well-built."

And they're affordable.

"Most of your activity right now is below $300,000," said Realtor Bob Boden in Winchester. "There's a lot of buyers out there that are interested, but it's the first time buyers and the lower-end properties that are active."