What's a better investment?

I am currently working with a buyer prospect who is looking to spent between $350-400k on a townhome in North County Inland area. We have been looking at two and three bedroom townhomes built after 1985. My client asked me a very good question in regards to the resalability of a two bedroom versus a three bedroom. Will a two bedroom be harder to sell than a three bedroom? I thought I would share my response to this question with you.

It may help to rank what I think are bedroom/bath configurations that are the easiest to hardest to sell:

Hardest

1. 1 br/ 1ba - Although the cheapest (and for good reason), these configurations can be very difficult to sell.  You are pretty much limited to appealing to a single person or couple. If the home is located in an area where there are predominantly families, this configuration will be the most difficult to find a buyer

2. 2br/1ba - Although you now have two bedrooms, most buyers like to have a dedicated guest bathroom separate from the master bedroom. You may appeal to a few more buyers who dont' care about sharing a bathroom, but this configuration can also be a harder sell

3. 2br/2ba - Now you are getting to a configuration that will serve a lot broader spectrum of potential buyers. A small family perhaps, roommate situation, or just an additional room for an office or guest bedroom with a separate bathroom.

4. 3br/ 2ba - This is one of the most popular configurations to sell. Having three bedrooms and two baths gives a buyer space for a family, office, guest bedroom, etc and two bathrooms are generally sufficient to a prospective buyer

5. 3br/ 2 1/2 baths - This configuration is just icing on the the cake! Having an extra half bath for guests is the ideal situation. You can't go wrong with this configuration, espectially if your home is in the entry level price range

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions on this information. I would be happy to hear from you! Happy House Hunting! Crista :)