Put your real estate critical thinking cap on and squeeze out some thoughts for me. Which house looks like it might be just a bit bigger than others?
I know it’s obvious. If you guessed the 2-story house that’s about twice the size of most other houses in the neighborhood, you’re right. Isn’t it amazing to come across homes that far outweigh others in a neighborhood? I found this gem last week during an appraisal inspection. This house is just over 3,000 square feet in a community where most homes are half that size between 1300-1500 square feet. It has 7 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, whereas other homes tend to have either 3 or 4 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms. Additionally, this super-sized McMansion has a 4-car garage while most houses have a 2-car garage.
Is it overbuilt? What do you think?
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Ryan,
Great example! I sure would like to see the look on the home owners face when they find out their home isn’t worth what they think it is just because the home is much larger than the others in their neighborhood.
I don’t see this type of overbuilding in my area, mainly it’s the $100,000 rock, hot tub, w/ slide salt pools, with artificial turf, giant granite counter top tiki bars and custom playground type overbuilding.
Yesterday I saw a 1,300 sq ft. home in a type of community where most are first time buyers and it had $10,000 – $20,000 built in appliances, the in house vacuum systems, every kind of granite and tile possible….the list goes on.
Thanks Brad. Great example of other types of over-improvement. It’s not always just too much square footage for the neighborhood. Owners need to enjoy their homes, but they might also be in tune with potential resale value. If buyers would pay $10,000-20,000 extra dollars for top-end appliances, great. If not though, it may be better to invest in another feature that has a greater yield in the resale market.
I’ll admit that hot tub does sound nice right about now. 🙂