Are Your Neighbors Hurting Your Home Value?

We have all heard the story about the neighbor that made selling a home difficult. But the reality is that is your neighbor helping or hurting you to sell your home?

There are many choices out there for a buyer to choose from...One thing that people tend to forget is that a potential buyer is going to be driving through the neighborhood on their way to look at your house. How the neighbors keep their homes can and will have a factor in whether your home gets an offer and for how much....

I was prompted to write this based on an experience I had yesterday. Couple looking for a home preferred this one particular neighborhood. Found a house that was a short sale and could not agree on terms...we kept looking and that same house went on the market as a bank foreclosure a little while later. We went backed and looked at the house; put an offer in and was told before the bank could respond we were in a multiple offer situation. We lost the house and there were six different people looking at the house.

Now fast forward about a month. Same street and neighborhood a similar house a little farther down the road is on the market. We go to look at the house and the layout is very much the same. However; the neighbors on both sides of the house yards and driveways were filled with old car parts and junk cars. The buyers elected to NOT put an offer in on this house because of the neighbors on each side of them....The irony is that a house about seven or eight house up from that one sold in less than 3 days. A similiar home between these two homes also sold in a very short period of time. Based on the sale price of those two homes in the last 30 days this home is priced right in comparison to those homes. But as the agent told me he is gettign very few showings and no offers on the house.

I always look around and drive through a neighborhood before I go to a listing presentation. because no matter how nice the house is and how well kept it is; if the neighborhood does not support it you are not going to get buyers putting offers in on your home. I have had a few listings where the agents told me they never went into the house because there buyers did not like the neighborhood...

I agree these are things you cannot control. however; they will and do affect the value of your home. So, when you are thinking of listign your home for sale; look around at your neighbors homes as well because they can be the reason your home gets an offer or does not.


Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com