Location of your Home

Location of your home can be as important as the size, layout, and options that the home offers. In considering a location, you should place high importance on location factors that important to you, but also factors that may be important to future buyers. Your home is an investment. You should carefully consider the future value of the home in the same manner you would consider a stock or bond investment. Location plays a critical role in your home's valuation or devaluation.

You must consider a broad appeal in which every occupant (current and future) of the home will be able to fulfill their needs. No matter where your home will be situated, there will always be a willing buyer. The key is to select a location that offers wide attraction for the most potential buyers. This is a major factor in increasing home valuation.

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A recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey found that affordability ranks high in importance, but buyers may focus on neighborhoods with good schools, distance from work, access to shopping and schools. Proximity to recreation may be a key factor, as well.

People who have bought real estate, those who have been transferred several times, are aware of location. However, first-time home buyers should be careful to choose a location that meets their needs, even if it means paying a little more.

The NAR survey established that location factors are individualized to the interests of each individual buyer. Home buyers with planned or growing families are likely to look for a neighborhood with close proximity to work and schools. Retired home buyers consider availability of close-by shopping a higher priority according to the survey.

Neighborhoods surrounding elementary schools tend to attract families with young children. When the children are grown, the parents may find other locations more convenient and are apt to sell, creating a well-timed turnover for new families with younger children.

In general terms, buyers who own two cars tend to rank closeness to schools and nearby shopping as less of a factor, while people with one car look at work distance and other factors such as public transportation, churches and recreational facilities.

It's important for potential buyers to examine what ranks high on their own list of priorities before they begin the house hunting process. In that way they'll have a clear idea of what amenities and services are available in the community they want to join.

The value of a house can change after its purchase. However, any change is likely to be gradual and will depend on factors such as the age of the home. Older neighborhoods tend to change more gradually. Houses located near an elementary school are usually a good investment, since their worth is related to the long standing factor of children.

Location Factors

In most cases, location factors in the purchase of a new home is a real balancing act and prioritizing what is important to you and what is important to future buyers can be a daunting task.

It is difficult to rank location factors in order of priority because there is such a diversity of buyers searching for new homes. The following are some of the most commonly cited factors that home buyers evaluate when shopping for a home.

School Districts - In selling a home, most realtors usually use mention of the location and quality of local schools in their sales pitch. However, I have never heard a realtor say "well the local school really sucks". Even if the local school has a poor reputation, the buyer will usually hear how great the school is with children. Still school quality and location are a primary consideration. You should ask specific questions relating to school such as:

Does the school district attract and retain good teachers?
How well do the students perform on national achievement tests?
What percentage of local high school graduates attend college?
What colleges accept these students?
What is the average education level of people in the area?
How do the local citizens respond to school tax levies?
How much does the school spend in average per student?
Does the school system have a well-developed vocational program for non-college bound students.

Neighborhoods - Most people prefer to live in an area where they belong to the dominant majority. This should not be considered a discriminatory factor. Preventing a minority from buying a home in this area would be, however. An Italian American might choose an area with a heavy concentration of residents of Italian descent, which offers access to Italian grocery stores and restaurants.

Resident factors go far beyond race or ethnic background. The age of the residents in the neighborhood play a primary factor, as well. One of my neighbors recently purchased a more expensive home in a affluent area of our town. He did not put his older home on the market immediately, because he wanted to perform repairs to command top dollar in the resale. He has shared custody of his 9 year old son and soon found that the affluent area in which he lived had very few children that were his son's age. He soon found he was spending more time in the old neighborhood, which had dozens of children his son's age, than he was spending in his new home. After fewer than 6 months in the new home, he had placed the new home on the market and moved back into his old home.

In choosing a neighborhood evaluate the proximity of your neighbors

Transportation - Transportation may or may not be an important factor depending on whether you live in a large city and where you live in relation to your job. Here in Georgia, where the total State population is about 9,000,000, about 7,000,000 live in the Atlanta metro area. Living in Atlanta is a commuting nightmare with local commutes of over an hour (one-way) being the norm, with many having commutes of 90 minutes or more twice each day. With public transportation, this commute would be limited from 3 hours per day to 45 minutes per day. Cobb County on the Northwest side of Atlanta refuses to allow the MARTA train system to cross into Cobb County for fear of bringing in a bad element. Meanwhile the quality of life in Cobb County is quickly deteriorating as commuters spend more time (and money) in their cars, than with their families. Now other counties surrounding Cobb County are noticing a significant population increase because transportation is a major consideration for these home buyers.

Municipal Government - The fiscal responsibility of local government should be a key consideration. Fiscal responsibility has two opposite effects. Police, fire, hospitals, garbage collection each require a sufficient tax base to pay for these services. If the services are extensive and high quality, expect to pay higher taxes. If services are limited, expect lower taxes. Fiscal responsibility goes far beyond good services and limited services, however. Some areas with high taxes have have poor services. My own local area spends 4 times the amount per inmate (in our jails) than we spend on our youth for recreation and sports activities.

Shopping - You will never appreciate living within a few blocks of a grocery store, until you have lived a few blocks from a grocery store. Once the cake is started and you realize you are without baking powder you will appreciate proximity. Traffic can be a major concern, however.

Location Checklist

What is the typical lots size?

How close are retail stores?

What are typical complaints about the area?.

Are zoning laws restrictive?

What services are provided by the city or town?

What is the average class size in Elementary, Middle, and High schools?

Is public transportation available?

How do local taxes compare with other areas?

Is crime a concern? (check violent crimes and violent crimes) You may check crime rates by zip code at

Location of your Home

Location Factors

Location Checklist

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