All Real Estate Is Local ( or at the very least , Regional ).... by Dan Vollmer , Associate Broker , ReMax 1st Olympic
10 — Say you saw it in The Real Estate Browser of Lynchburg — Volume 8 Number 3 www . LynchburgRealEstateBrowser . com
All Real Estate Is Local ( or at the very least , Regional ).... by Dan Vollmer , Associate Broker , ReMax 1st Olympic
Like many of you , we travel to visit family periodically throughout the year . For us , that means heading north to New Jersey a few times a year to visit with my brother and his wife and my parents . We always have a great time ( thanks for asking ) and usually manage to make it there and back without hitting too much traffic . We ’ re starting to get the hang of it .
Being in real estate , the topic of homes and property comes up frequently . In fact , during a recent visit we enjoyed a family dinner , and then my dad drove my wife and I over to a beautiful old historic property that has been on the market awhile . We peeked in the windows , walked around the exterior , and generally mused over the storied past and potential future of such a grand home .
Which has me reflecting on the odd and quirky differences between our markets . See , in New Jersey - at least according to my father - very little emphasis is placed on square footage . My dad , in his semi-retirement , works a part-time job which involves interacting with real estate agents across Northern New Jersey . So he does have some insight and knowledge about general practices . And there , much more value is placed on bedrooms than total square footage . In fact , sometimes its not even mentioned on real estate flyers .
To me , this makes no sense . Who cares if the house has 5 bedrooms if its only 1300 square feet ? The proportion of bedrooms to square footage is pretty important when trying to determine how spacious ( or cramped ) a home might be . I ’ ve had many buyers whose search criteria included a minimum square footage - because they knew what it was like to live in something that was too small .
On the other hand , I spoke with a good friend who builds homes North Carolina . We talk on and off about the new construction market in our area , and whether or not building here would be a viable venture for his company . We talked a couple numbers , and it occurred to me that he may not be considering the fact that , in our area , just about every new construction home buyer will expect to have at least an unfinished basement .
In many areas of North Carolina , and certainly point further south , a basement is less common . Or at the very least , not on the list of expectations . Now certainly we have homes that do not have basements … but in terms of new construction , and at a certain price point , my experience is that the vast majority do . Its something buyers in our area want and expect .
So if you ’ ve just moved here , first off - welcome ! And second , understand that regions and markets are different . Let your agent know what expectations you have about the home search process , and maybe be ready to make a few adjustments .
Questions , comments , or have an idea for a future article ? Email me at dan @ DanVollmer . com .