Why the Location within a Location Matters

Location, location, location. It’s the number one rule of real estate. If you’ve ever shopped for a home, you’ve likely heard your realtor stress its importance when searching for the right neighborhood. But this isn’t the only factor that affects your property’s value and appeal.

Where your house is situated within your neighborhood matters just as much. And it’s this “location within a location” that separates the most prime homes from all the rest.

A Tale of Two Homes
Say you live in a great location that feeds into a major job center, and you have an easy commute to the downtown area.  Your neighborhood is safe, has good schools, and plenty of community recreation. It has its own sense of identity and is considered an ideal place to live.

You and your neighbor have both decided to put your homes on the market. Both houses were built by the same builder, during the same year, with identical floor plans.

While your house sells for $600,000, your neighbor’s house goes for $650,000. Why the discrepancy? Because your neighbor’s exact spot on the block is slightly more desirable than yours.

Getting Specific About Location
Even if you live in the exact same home, certain aspects of your property’s specific location could make is less desirable than neighboring properties. This will lower the salability of your home and result in a greatly adjusted price. You may find there are fewer interested buyers, or that some buyers won’t even consider it.

Here’s how the location within a location rule impacts your home’s resale value:

• You live on a corner lot. Every car entering the neighborhood turns by the corner lot, while fewer cars pass by a house in the middle of the street.

• You live at the intersection of two perpendicular streets. Once the sun is down, headlights from every oncoming car will shine into your house, but not the houses on the right or the left.

• Your house backs up to another home. With neighbors on the other side of your back yard fence, you have less privacy than a house that backs up to a green belt (where no one can build behind your property).

• Your house is located near the desert. Homes that overlook the ocean or have excellent views do better than those in arid climates with barren landscapes.

• Your neighborhood is next to an international airport. If air traffic patterns pass over your house, you’ll experience more aircraft noise than homes with easy access to the airport but are not affected by airport activity.

• Your house is a school bus stop. When a school bus stops directly in front of a house, it can temporarily block the driveway and some rooms could be exposed to extra street noise.

• You live close to power lines. There is a negative public perception of power lines, plus some people find the hum produced by transformers to be distracting.

Whether buying or selling a home, these are important factors to consider. If you’re buying a home, think about how its specific location may affect a future resale. If you’re selling your home at an attractive price, it may still take longer to sell than neighboring homes. A savvy broker will help you set the right selling price for the best return.

Over to You
Are you selling your home? How has the location within a location rule affected its salability? Share your experience in the comments.