Keep in mind that where a property is situated will dictate your quality of life, realtors advise
Pedro Arrais
Sun
‘Proximity to the arts and theatre’ Put Julie Swain and husband, Harry, in their home in the Victoria neighbourhood of Rockland.
New home shoppers will invariably hear the mantra: location, location, location. This time-worn cliche sung by realtors everywhere does have the ring of truth as the location of a property often is the most important factor that determines the desirability — and value — of a piece of real estate.
“You can change everything about a house — but you cannot change its location,” says Mark Lawless, a realtor with Re/Max Camosun, Victoria. Lawless always recommends purchasing with location in mind, especially if clients are thinking of it as an investment.
“In a market downturn a house in a good location will be well insulated [financially],” says Lawless. He says that a good location usually means that a property will sell sooner than a less-desirable house, even if they are in the same neighbourhood.
But choosing the right location is not the only consideration a buyer should be thinking of, he says.
“Although purchasers think that they are just buying a house, in reality they are buying a lifestyle that is associated with the location of their new home,” says Lawless. An example would be a downtown condo-dweller who likes long walks along the water every day. This person would not be happy in a house that is located in an inland subdivision with no trails — no matter how desirable the area.
“The location of a property dictates a lifestyle choice. It’s not about the structure,” says Lawless, a 20-year veteran of real estate.
Newcomer Julie Swain agrees. “You cannot separate lifestyle and location. We bought where we did because of our proximity to the arts and theatre.
“That’s our lifestyle — and that dictates our location,” says Swain, 67, of her new home in the Victoria neighbourhood of Rockland.
Swain says she was impressed with the construction quality of her new three-bedroom, 4,500-square-foot house with a small garden. She and her semi-retired husband Harry, 64, moved here from Toronto two years ago. They bought as close to downtown as they could afford so that they could walk and cycle everywhere, Swain says.
The location of a condominium within a building can affect its desirability and value as well. Lawless says that south-facing condo units, which are usually sunnier, will generally sell faster than similar units on the north side of a complex, which get less sunlight.
The only time that this is not the case is when the north side has a desirable feature, such as views.
A desirable location is usually the first thing that developers look for as well.
“When I look at building a house in an area, I take into consideration things like the quality of the neighbourhood, being close to amenities such as schools, shopping and transportation,” says builder-developer Mike Miller. “I would rather spend more than be price-point driven.”
A desirable house can offer intangible benefits beyond the bricks and mortar. Miller, who has two school-aged children, says that he chose to live in Oak Bay because it was easy and safe for his children to walk to school.
Realtor John Daviss likens the purchase of a house in an undesirable location to musical chairs. “You don’t want to be the guy standing up when the music stops,” he says.
In a hot market, a bad location is readily overlooked, Daviss says, but in a regular or cool market, a house in a poor location is hard to move. He says that most bad locations have issues concerning traffic or noise. “Obviously a house located beside the Trans-Canada Highway would fall into this category,” says Daviss.
Purchasers should also be aware of properties that are in the flight path of air traffic. Daviss remembers one property that was adjacent to the airport that “made my bones rattle” whenever a jet took off. The vendor referred to the air traffic as “my own private air show.”
Noise created by humans is easier to rectify because most municipalities have a noise bylaw.
“It is a challenge if neighbours have different lifestyles,” says Lorne Fletcher, bylaw enforcement officer for Langford. He attends to complaints against “party houses” where loud music and frequent loud parties are the norm. If the tenants of the rental house do not comply by reducing the volume of their stereos, he has the option of issuing a fine against them or the landowner.
A messy house and yard can sour a neighbourhood and devalue property values. Municipalities have unsightly-premises bylaws to address situations where people leave junk cars, boats and other items in their yards.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006