If you are considering buying a new home, the most critical factor you must have at the back of your mind is location. There are no two ways about this; your home buying decision should be made on the premise of the location, not just the home itself.
But then, you may wonder, why is location so vital to real estate investing?
Here are reasons to prioritize location when buying a home.
1. It determines your access to necessary amenities
As basic as access to amenities seem, it is entirely crucial. There is a vast difference between being able to get to the grocery store within 10 minutes and having to drive 45 minutes to purchase a pack of cereal.
You must carefully evaluate how central your would-be home is and how easy you can access places like the gym, hospital, restaurant, or shopping mall. All these add to the desirability of your home.
2. It determines whether your child can access the right schools
If you have a family, the proximity of your home to the best schools is another issue you must think of when choosing a location. Apart from having your child gain quality and proper education, it is also satisfying knowing your child does not have to pass concerted rigors to attend school.
Even if you don’t have children, the quality of the school system around will impact the value of your home and, ultimately, its resale value. However, if you are buying a home for vacation or retirement goals, this may not be important.
3. Location determines how safe you will live
Of course, nobody wakes up and decides to move to an area rampant with crime; neither would you like to sleep with one eye open. This is why you must adequately research a potential neighborhood before buying a house in it.
Is the community gated? Are CCTV cameras installed around the area? These are things you should look for. You can also check local crime reports available online to know how secured the neighborhood is.
4. It determines the available transportation options
Another reason why location is vital in real estate is because it involves how people move around the neighborhood and city. It would be best to settle for an area that provides easy access to major roads or safe public transportation options.
The traffic situation in some areas could be terrible, meaning your movements are stiffened, and running simple errands becomes quite tricky. Hence, you need to pay attention to the existing transportation system.
5. Future growth potential
The real estate market isn’t fixed. What this implies is that locations are constantly dwindling and flourishing. Therefore, your foremost concern when choosing a location for your new home should be its potential to appreciate down the line.
Just as it is easy for an unknown neighborhood to become the talk of the town in a decade, so is it easy to move into a house in a location experiencing a decline. It may not be easy to predict whether an area would blossom shortly, but certain neighborhoods have specific factors pointing to future growth potential.
Remember you can upscale the condition of your home and boost its price, but one thing you can’t change is the home’s location.