Would I prefer to live in a house or in a car?
This is one of the first questions home buyers should ask themselves.
The real estate value mantra - location, location, location - is at the heart of this apparently-simple decision. In the age of urban sprawl, buyers too often make the urban versus suburban choice using the wrong criteria.
Which home-buyer group do you belong to?
Buyers who want to maximize time spent doing what they like, with those they love, will chose to live within reasonable proximity to work and what matters to them. They aim to live in the middle of what they love and to keep travel time to a minimum, even if square footage must be compromised.
Buyers, who are convinced they want more square footage than urban homes and condominiums offer at the same price point, are automatically drawn by "bigger is better" marketing campaigns for suburban locations. Details of long commute times and the resulting life in a car (or on a train) are glossed over, as are realities of lost time with family and friends. Size is king!
Many buyers faced with the urban versus suburban decision concentrate on price per volume in the same way that detergent and many household products are price compared. With commodities, bigger is better and cheaper, and therefore the better buy. With houses, it's not so simple.
Bigger is not always more important that location and lifestyle, but it seems to stay in the buyer spotlight.
- Need versus Want
The "up-sizing" craze that transformed healthy eating into obesity binges has had a similar impact on housing. Media promoted the "bigger is better" view of houses and encouraged buyers to go for the max. That strategy worked for some, but left many house rich and cash poor, or worse.
Financial guru Suze Orman suggests that gaining power over money is tied to separating needs from wants. For instance, when you know exactly whyyou need a certain amount of square footage, go for it. But, if you want what everybody else seems to have, or crave size that impresses, less may be more when it comes to home size.
Revisit the calculation you used to determine your square footage goal. What's the minimum living space you need? This is the amount you must clean, heat, and maintain. More space would need care, too, but do you need this extra expense and work? Consider your current space. Are there rooms that are rarely visited? How much time will be spend out of the home enjoying life?
- Valuable Out-of-House Time
What's outside your front door determines your quality of life. With a wide variety of social, cultural, sports, and other activities to choose from there'll be less time spent inside in front of a screen. Choices may be greater in urban areas, but only if you make the effort to participate.
- Commute Time = ?
Commuting hours represent time you can't get back. There's also the risk of delays and accidents. What will you miss while on the road? And then there's rising gas or transit costs to consider. How many cars will the family require?
- Small is Sustainable
If you consider yourself environmentally-conscious, urban sprawl will not attract you. Smaller homes represent sustainable housing. Car-free lifestyles work on all green levels. Walking to work is a hot option. If you're not thinking "green," check with your children. They may be ready for less.
- Investment Pays Off
Location is a key determinant of real estate value. Moving from urban to suburban can seem to increase spending power. The problem is suburban properties don't appreciate as quickly, and suburban living is not as inexpensive as it once was. If later you need to reverse the move to urban, you may have lost a lot of financial ground. Ask your real estate professional to work through this topic comparing urban and suburban values, and you'll learn where real estate carries the greatest future benefit for you.
- Housing Keeps You Healthy... Or Not
Choose a location where driving is not essential for most daily activities and you'll probably lead a healthier lifestyle - and save money too. Urban locations lend themselves to pedestrian living and can even remove the need for that second car, or for owning a car at all.
According to the Health Impact Project (HIP) website: "Conditions in the places where we live, work and play have a tremendous impact on Americans' health. It is much easier to stay healthy when we can easily and safely walk, run or bike; when we have clean air, healthy food and access to affordable housing; and when we are safe from things like violent crime, fires and lead poisoning. Every day, policy makers in many sectors have opportunities to make choices that - if they took health into account - could help stem the growth of pressing health problems like obesity, injury, asthma and diabetes that have such a huge impact on our nation's health care costs and on people's quality of life."
HIP cites the Denver Housing Authority's South Lincoln Redevelopment [ South Lincoln Redevelopment ] Project as an example of "an energized transit community where people choose to live to experience environmental sustainability, cultural diversity, proximity to downtown, and a spectrum of housing options."
Are there neighborhoods or developments in your area with this combination of active lifestyle and sustainability?
"Americans want to walk for reasons of health and recreation," said urban-planning expert and University of Utah professor, Reid Ewing, co-author of the new book, Pedestrian- and Transit-Oriented Design. "And we want them to walk - to reduce oil dependence, air pollution and carbon emissions. Pedestrian and Transit Oriented Design brings together almost 20 years of research on what it takes to create great cities and suburbs where Americans will walk."
This new publication from the Urban Land Institute and the American Planning Association is a how-to guide for creating liveable places that offers "strategies for bridging the gap between sprawled streetscapes and the growing market demand for pedestrian-oriented urban environments in the United States."
How big is big enough for you and your family? The ideas above should start you thinking about the size and location of the "dream" home that you need. Just following what friends are doing is not exploring all your options.
Which criteria for choosing urban versus suburban are most important to you? Why?
Published: April 2, 2013
Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.