Many investors both big and small including realtors and agents, when asked the key thing to look when buying a property, they all share the common mantra; location, location, and location. Real Estate appreciation is based on two vital factors; supply and demand. Housing supply in great locations is limited to the number of homes in that location. Most people have no idea what it means by a good location. A good location can mean different things to different people, of course, but there are also objective factors that determine home value.
Location is important, but having a great location doesn’t guarantee anything. It’s a starting point for what could be a great investment. However, an inept real estate investor could own property at a great location and lose a fortune. It is not known to many that location creates desirability, desirability creates demand, and demand raises property prices. There will always be a demand for a prime location, and one should be willing to pay a premium price for a prime location. It is also good to note that as a buyer, you should not always rush in to buy a property since it was cheap or priced at market rate. Have insight and foresight of the property location, such information are usually not factored in the price computation. Thus is good to be willing to pay more for a prime location. In the same note, there is no right price for the wrong property.
When looking at a great location to buy any property, here are some things to consider;
Great View;
When you go to buy a property be it a maisonette, or a condominium. You need to ask yourself what are you going to be seeing and is that what you want to be seeing. It is possible to move a house by having it built somewhere else in its matching details but you cannot move the location. Having the best views is a factor to consider when choosing and buying a property. The views can be of water bodies such as the sea, lake, rivers, or even dams. It can be vegetation covers such as forests, trees, mountains, or even a panoramic view of the city. Do not just invest in a property in the location you have heard about, see onto if it view is one you would want. Good views may mean something slightly different, and more modest, but just as important to the value of the property. If buy to flip, have the intended future customer in mind. Will this be the view they would want to view from their houses. If not getting what you want enquire about modification possibilities such as having bigger or more windows. Great view influence price, thus a lower floor flat costs much lower than one on the very top of the corner.
Prestige;
Have you noted how people’s social status is also attached to the location of their area of residence? You will always want to be associated with areas that have a good neighborhood. We can state that a good neighborhood is an area with no cases of social evils such as homicide, burglary, high spread of the pandemic, etc. Even though we cannot control our neighbors because they too can relocate and those who move in turn the whole good location to be a total nightmare. As a buyer, you need to look into the location’s population demographic that is attracted and will always be interested to live in that location. There is a reason why all the rich and mighty will want to own houses in Muthaiga, Karen, Nyali, and Vipingo, especially in Kenya. These locations are not only considered but also perceived to be of the wealthy and thus they make up the population there, we find even embassies and highly ranked state officials staying there. The demography of the location in terms of population composition such as their income level does affect the price too. Hence a similar size of a parcel of land in slum areas will be very low priced compared to those in the prime areas. The price is due to demand for space has caused the price to rise while in slum areas they are priced low as a means of customer pull.
Growth Potential;
If a real acquisition has no growth potential, it should not pique your interest to invest. If you expect to be successful in real estate, the most important questions to ask yourself are:” Will this investment keeps up with changing times? Will rents keep up with inflation? Is the area suitable, getting better or deteriorating? Ever noted what happened where there are changes in land development restrictions such as from single storey to allowance of tall buildings or movement of the dumpsite. Immediately the once enjoyed luxury of the area drops and thus is the property price. Some locations have changed status by the mere fact of having a classy hotel, high valued institution built at the area or even speculations of a great government-funded project like the SGR will station or pass-by. It is, for this reason, others do land-banking. This is buying land in an area where you perceive will soon be appreciating to sell it then. This needs a keen research eye on the potential areas, least the opposite happens. Property is always expected to appreciate at all times that is why the lower you buy now, the higher you can sell it off in the future.
Convenience;
When you go out to buy a property in a certain location, apart from the home you are buying. There other things to look for is your access to amenities that are not offered at the home. These can be grocery stores, restaurants, shopping centers, and entertainment joints, houses of worship, police post, transport, and communication. You should be at a less than 10 minutes’ drive from these needy amenities. These properties not only fetch higher prices for your intended clients if looking to flip, but they also ensure a constant graph in tenancy. Even factories not only focus on the size of land to buy but also proximity to raw material and workforce labor. Due to the rising cost of living, we tend to see also people looking to invest in areas near or next to their workplace, where their children go to school, etc. This means when looking to buy that house or office this is a factor to consider too.
Restrictions;
This is especially if you looking to buy a plot in your area of choice. Get to visit the local authority and inquire about the property as you doing your due diligence. Is the area suit for what I would want to build in the future? Is this area marked as a government property or not? Is this a riparian land? Or is it a forest? All this will be a good thing to do so that once you have bought and hand plans to do a 70 storey building you are told the area is allowed for just a two or single storey or was illegally sold a plot that is under caveat.
Looking from the above factors, I believe now you know what to look for in a location. It is not about stating location, location, and location.