Location: What makes a property well located?

If you are considering buying a real state property for investment, you may already know what basic factors makes more valuable one property than others, in this article we are going to explore a little bit deeper why location is important.

When analyzing and comparing home values, factors such as the quality of the home, year built, size and amenities can determine a certain quantity of appreciation, but these factors can only go up to a certain limit. Location however, can be a fundamental reason for a significant value increase on a property.

Those who are seeking to buy the right property usually know this, but sometimes is hard to clearly identify how well is a property located, especially if you are investing internationally or in towns or cities you do not know much.

It is also worth mentioning that every buyer has its own desires to meet when searching for an ideal home, and those can be simple as a big balcony or the ease of access from the place to work.

What makes a good location in real estate?

Is not a simple answer, and it depends of many factors, which includes meeting the preferences of certain types of buyers, how close is to some basic needs stores and businesses, and ease of access. But it is important to take a look on general factors that don’t rely on your personal preferences when choosing a home, this will help you clear out if you are making the right decision in terms of investment.

We take a detailed look on these factors, together with some recommendations below:

Closeness and convenience

The most basic factor is how close is your property to amenities such as supermarkets, shopping centers, pharmacies, and similar places. Everyone likes convenience, so it is important to take in consideration people’s preferences and behavior, for example, while commuting from work.

School is another important amenity that should be close to your neighborhood, keeping in mind that a family might be the next interested buyer of your property.

Ease of access

Besides the closeness of the amenities previously mentioned, how to access to the neighborhood of your potential home is an important factor that determines the quality of the location.
Homes that have the benefit of being accessed through multiple roads, or those who can get into the city’s main corridors and avenues are more valued than those who are hard to find.

It is also important to mention their closeness to public transportation, in Panama particularly, those properties closer to bus and metro stations are taken more in consideration than properties who does not.

Quality of the area

If the property is surrounded by old and abandoned buildings, and common areas or roads that are not taken care of, they are more likely to lose value over time. Properties in areas of newer developments, green spaces or close to parks are more demanded and desirable for potential buyers. Safety also plays a crucial part for the neighborhood’s quality, and it can be a decision-making factor for many.

Future projects and developments

While choosing a property, it is important to research what kind of future amenities will be built close to the home or in the area overall. Many of promising developments can increase the home value such as future shopping malls, new highways and corridors for access, new schools, and/or new metro stations.

But beware, some projects in development can diminish the location convenience and hence depreciate your real estate property faster, those can be for example fire stations or hospitals that can increase both noise and traffic.

See the big picture

It is good to research other macro-oriented facts about the area of your potential real estate property, for example the overall economics in terms of jobs, is it an area that have a strong job market? What type of jobs are in this area? (such as in multinational or big local companies).

Also, population growth or tax policies can be some points that can increase demand in real estate in the area. An overall government economic plan on the area can affect positive or negatively the real estate market there.

As you can see, there are a great number of factors that must be considered to realize if a potential property has a good location. It is not necessary to follow all these factors all together, at the end there is no perfect property, but considering two or three of them can help you identify whether that home is the right one or not for you.