Real Estate Value: Analysis of Real Worth

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Real estate is one of the most valuable investments you can make. Real estate in New Jersey is especially valuable. There are many reasons why real estate can be valuable, but the age-old adage is usually right: Location, location location. At ERA Othello Realty we look at all the criteria that make up real estate value.

Real estate can have value because it’s valuable to a specific individual, but overall the value of real estate is what the general public (in the market) will pay for it. A residential home’s value can have many pluses and minuses, but if all other things remain the same then the location determines the price.

There are different criteria with different types of real estate that determine what location is valuable for a specific piece of real estate. For a commercial property it might be important to be on a main road with a lot of traffic. For industrial real estate it might be important to be near railway lines or away from high traffic areas.

For residential real estate it becomes more complicated. “Residential real estate” means someone’s home. A home is the most personal piece of real estate and, usually, the most important real estate that s/he will ever own. There are many reasons why one location will be more valuable than another.

Schools very often are the driving force behind a person’s determination to stay in a specific place or to move to a specific place. In this case “real estate location” is something that isn’t a specific “vicinity” issue but rather a municipality issue. So this piece of real estate will have a different value for someone with children than for someone without children. So a good school system will only drive up the price for certain people, as such it only has a partial affect.

Transportation is a huge factor for people who need to travel to work. In Central New Jersey, which includes Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Mercer County and parts of Ocean County and Burlington County, people very often need to travel to Northern New Jersey or New York City. If the home is close to a major thoroughfare, such as the Garden State Parkway, The New Jersey Turnpike, Route 1 or 9, it can have a very positive affect on desirability for long-commuting buyers.

Mass transit is also an important factor to commuters who use it. The New Jersey mass transit system brings millions of commuters north every day and certain people will pay more to be close to it.

Some people like their homes very secluded, surrounded by a lot of land and some people like their homes in a cozy development. As a general rule, though, the more land, the more someone will pay for that piece of real estate.

The size of the house has one of the strongest impacts on the value. A small house on a small piece of land has a much lower real estate value than a medium house on a small piece of land. This is obvious. There is a time, though, that a house too large for the land can reach a peak with it’s real estate value.

A combination of land and home size is second to location in real estate value. Let us not forget about the condition of the total piece of real estate. The real estate condition is usually on the home itself but it can also be on the land. A nice manicured lawn with a lot of nice trees can be a boon to the property’s worth.

The condition of the house itself is very important. A house that needs some “TLC” (or tender loving care) has amuch lower value than a house that is “as new.” While this might be obvious, it should also be obvious to a home seller that they should fix up their house as much as possible. The same idea of “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Making sure the paint is perfect, the carpet nice, no cosmetic flaws can have a much larger value -add than the cost of fixing it up. It’s not always the case, but it usually is.

New Jersey is called The Garden State for a reason. It used to be much more rural. Parts of it, mainly in Southern New Jersey, are still much more rural. As the New York Metro area grew, though, it transformed Northern NJ, and now Central NJ into a more suburban locale. This, in turn, has driven up real estate values. The NJ Real Estate Market has surged incredibly these past 10 years.

As NYC real estate prices have climbed people have started to move out of NY and into, relatively, cheaper New Jersey. These cheaper suburban real estate prices, in turn, have attracted more people, which drives up real estate demand and real estate prices. When the prices in Northern Jersey go up people look further south into Central Jersey and then the cycle repeats itself. But, in general, the prices of central and south New Jersey are cheaper than northern. Central NJ is cheaper than South NJ.

So, in review, here are the important criteria for real estate value:

* Real Estate Location * Real Estate Condition * Real Estate Size * Real Estate Vicinity * School Districts * Transportation (Roads) * Mass Transportation

I hope this real estate tutorial is a help in your next real estate purchase or sale. Copyright 2005 Cy Yablonsky. Cy Yablonsky is an Associate Realtor with Othello Realty, you can visit Othello Realty at http://www.OthelloRealty.com. Feel free to reprint this article but you must include this paragraph and all links must be live and working, no changes can be made.

About the Author

Copyright 2005 Cy Yablonsky. Cy Yablonsky is an Associate Realtor with Othello Realty, you can visit Othello Realty at http://OthelloRealty.com. Feel free to reprint this article but you must include this paragraph and all links must be live and working, no changes can be made.

The Value Of Concrete Countertops — Customization Increases Aesthetic Appeal And Real Estate Investment For Homeowners

From top-dollar homes in the San Francisco Bay Area to sprawling mountain homes in the Colorado Rockies, discriminating homeowners are demanding custom designs and finishes in their kitchens. In particular, they are looking to express their individuality and distinct design preferences with the fast-growing design material of choice ? concrete.

In fact, concrete countertops have become somewhat of a status symbol for kitchens, rivaling granite and other high-end countertop surface options. Consumer Reports Magazine (August 2004) ranked concrete highest for its ?customization? and ?exclusivity? among high-end kitchen countertops.

As a custom product, the amount of time and craftsmanship required to produce concrete countertops places them as the most labor-intensive and priciest among leading countertop materials.

However, concrete countertops are becoming more accessible for those on a modest budget. The latest do-it-yourself (DIY) trend to captivate homeowners and builders is building your own concrete countertop. This phenomenon has gained popularity largely due to Cheng?s best-selling book Concrete Countertops: Design, Forms, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002). According to Cheng, there is little monetary investment in making concrete countertops, yet the creative gains of working with concrete are plentiful.

THE SHOWSTOPPER

Increasingly, homeowners are moving away from the monotonous, manufactured look of traditional countertop surfaces and choosing concrete for its earthy, timeless appeal. Plus, the options for personalizing concrete countertops are endless: one can color, polish, stamp and stain concrete or imbed personal objects like stones, seashells and fossils into the countertop?s surface, adding sentiment and character. Functional features such as drain boards, soap dishes, and trivets can also be incorporated to suit the homeowners? own needs and lifestyle.

Concrete is slowly becoming demystified as characteristically cold and industrial. In contrary, this age-old material is warm and surprisingly tactile; people cannot help but touch their smooth, polished surfaces. Real estate agent Joy Rasmussen, who has recently sold her mountain home ? a short-term investment property in Steamboat Springs, CO ? recounts her visitors? experiences with concrete: ?When I had open houses, visitors gravitated to the concrete countertops ? many people around here have never seen them?.

Joy?s 2,265 sq. ft. mountain home was custom build by her husband, Ken Otterman, along with KJ Otterman, president of Classic Special Custom Homes. They built pour-in-place concrete counters for the home?s kitchen and three bathrooms by using Concrete Countertops as their guide. The sand-colored concrete countertops were polished smooth, then paired with natural slate of varying colors ? like charcoal, rust and gold tones ? that forms the backsplashes in the kitchen and baths. As a design accent, small rectangular slate tiles were added to
the rim of the bathroom sinks, which provided a unique detail to the custom vanities.

When Joy and Ken decided to sell their house, their investment in concrete countertops proved its value. ?We were able to list the house $20,000 over market value, and had no problems selling it,? comments Joy, while discussing the long list of upgrades throughout their house, including knotty pine solid doors, natural slate wall accents and hardwood floors. ?The concrete countertops were easily the most unique and impressive of all the finishes. I believe they were a huge part in adding value to the home. Around here, all you see in homes are granite countertops ?and I really think homebuyers are getting quite numb with granite.?

?Concrete countertops are a unique offering to homebuyers who see the same finishes used in house after house they visit,? explains Joy, offering her observation as a seasoned realtor. ?Having concrete countertops almost gives you bragging rights ? you have something different from your neighbors.?

BREAKING THE MOLD

Another advantage of concrete is its adaptability in either modern or traditional settings, especially when coupled with other materials like varied metals, wood or stone. ?Concrete adds so many [possibilities] to stone, and the combination with slate, which is hugely popular here, gives the mountain homes an overall warm, natural touch,? says Joy.

Joy and Ken have since built a much larger home (4,000 sq. ft.) that offers expansive views of the Steamboat Ski Resort and is meant to serve as a long-term investment for the couple. They?ve also expanded their list of custom finishes, including hand-troweled walls, elegant oil-rubbed bronze hardware, knotty pine doors that arch at the top, cabinets in a natural, knotty alder, and their favorite ? concrete kitchen countertops.

Unlike in their previous home, KJ and his specialty crew poured charcoal-colored countertops using the pre-cast method in the unfinished basement of the new home. Before pouring the concrete, they sprinkled an array of semi-precious stones in the mold including Leopardskin, Moonstone, Mother-of-Pearl and Turquoise. After the surface was ground and lightly polished, the finished result was an impressive blend of colors, ?By far, the Mother-of-Pearl was the most incredible,? says Joy.

The L-shaped concrete countertop has a rough, rustic stone appearance, complementing its rugged country surroundings. An integral drain board and trivets provides function and added interest to the concrete countertop. Natural slate backsplashes, distinct wall accents, and a butcher block countertop at the kitchen island all resonate with the traditional warmth and earthiness of the concrete countertops.

Joy and Ken?s respective backgrounds in real estate and custom homebuilding, and as investment homebuyers, have helped them realize that concrete countertops can add tremendous aesthetic and financial value to a home. Concrete?s customization and ?show-stopping? appeal is like no other countertop surface. Cheng is a proponent of emotional aesthetics and building homes that capture these emotions, as in the case of Joy and Ken Otterman. Cheng concludes: ?People really want differentiation, something personal, something custom ? and concrete can do that for them.?

About the Author: Deborah Meyer works as Marketing Assistant for Cheng Design, an interior design company headed by award-winning designer Fu-Tung Cheng, who has pioneered the use of interior concrete. Deborah’s work includes writing press releases with a focus on the do-it-yourself stories of the company?s customers. http://www.ConcreteExchange.com