Portland Neighborhoods—Why location is even more important than ever in today’s real estate market

The saying goes, “location, location, location” well in today’s real estate market that could not be more true.  When buyers have numerous homes to select from and when prices have been declining it’s more important than ever to choose your next location wisely. 

When choosing your next neighborhood there are many factors that you should think about when making your decision.  What and where are the schools and how are they ranked?  What are comparable values and is this neighborhood in line with the rest of this city’s values?  If it’s higher or lower why?  What is the crime, traffic, police and fire situation?  What types of future construction is planned next door and what about for the city and county?  You are going to have to make decisions.  If you got everything you wanted out of a neighborhood then you probably could not afford the house so you have to start planning what’s most important for your family.  Is it more important that your home increases in value greater than other homes?  Is it more important that you live close to shopping, public transportation, and parks?  Would you rather sacrifice home size for location or would you rather have a better location but be more cramped as a family? 

What makes certain neighborhoods better than others?  Why are some neighborhoods so famous that everyone knows about them?  When thinking about these two questions I’d consider locations in proximity to big city and jobs.  I’d also look at the pride of ownership of the owners.  I’d look at the owner occupied percentages of the neighborhood.  Usually the schools and parks are nice too.  Is it a walker friendly neighborhood and do they value the “ma and pa” shops?  What is the time on market for the homes for sale in the neighborhood?

It’s important that you find a real estate agent or people who can identify and know what you are searching for.  If you are from out of town it’s even more important to chose an agent who understands what you are looking for so they can better access your needs.  If your three most important things are square footage, price and proximity to work than that will allow your agent to narrow down your search.  In today’s real estate climate the last thing you want to do is get a super deal on a home but the neighborhood you chose to live in ends up lowering the value of your home.  You may have been better off purchasing in the higher priced area that maintained or increased in value.  Remember that everything happens for a reason.  If there are incredible deals in a certain location I would be cautious.  Is it a great deal because it’s near a dump, or it’s zoned in an area where low income townhome/apartments are scheduled to be built next door or is it a good deal because the home has problems?  These are all very important questions to ask yourself when selecting your next home and neighborhood.