If you are looking to sell your house, there are many key considerations to factor in so that you can achieve the best price possible, and sell the property in the quickest possible time. Thanks to the internet, homebuyers now have a wealth of information about your home and the area, readily available at their fingertips. Information on crime rates, house prices and quality of schools are all easily accessible in a homebuyer’s market that has changed considerably over the last few years. In a 2017 survey, millennials (25 -34 year old) are expected to constitute 33% of all home buys, the highest percentage it has ever been since records began. This is the age group that are getting married and having children, who will of course need a school to go to. Therefore, if living near a school zone is important to an ever-growing section of home buyers, then it has to be important to the seller, which makes the question of when is the best time to sell a house when living near a school zone, a vital, but often overlooked, factor for sellers staging a home to sell.
For some, living near a school zone, and in particular, a certain school zone, is one of the most important features they look for when buying a home. A 2013 survey found that more than 44 percent of respondents throughout the US are prepared to go over their home-buying budget by up to 10 percent for homes in preferred school boundaries. The same survey also revealed that 90% of respondents said that school boundaries are “important" and "somewhat important". Why is this? good schools attract families with school-age children. Home buyers with children value a good education and in many cases put their money where their mouth is to ensure their kids get that good education. Some of these homebuyers are willing to sacrifice certain things to ensure they live near a particular school. Nearly 30% would buy a smaller home if it meant living near the right school, whilst 20% said they would give up a bedroom or garage to live in the right school district. The fact that nearly half the home buying population would be happy to go beyond their intended budget to live near a certain school, cannot be ignored. So, when you are staging a home to sell and asking what’s my house worth, when living near a school zone, you have to look at the quality and desirability of the school itself. If you live near a good school, it is a selling point and should be treated as such. On top of that, living near a school can offer some advantages that are difficult gleamed from the internet. As well as the obvious shorter walking distances for smaller children, living near a school zone can mean increased police presence, personal use of school facilities and easy access to school programs. So, when it comes to using these advantages to know when is the best time to sell a home living near a school zone, approaching a new school year, or at worst, a new semester, is always a good time for sellers looking at staging a home to sell. Give the buyer time (and help if needed) to make the necessary schooling arrangements and there is every chance you could get the best price possible for your home sale.
Let’s face it, living near a school zone has some downsides even if that school is Harvard. Even living near a high-scoring school in demand has disadvantages that must be factored in if looking to sell your home fast. Depending on the type of school and the proximity of the school, different aged children bring different problems to counter when trying to sell a home. Older kids can be unruly, noisy, vandalize and even bring drugs to your neighborhood. Meanwhile, a location next to an elementary school can be negative due to the noise factor and the pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Elementary schools finish early, generally prior to the evening rush hours, so the only traffic impact an elementary school presents can be on the morning traffic. However, parking close to the schools are affected and that is something that can present a problem to local residents. These little nuances to living near a school zone have to be taken into consideration when selling a home which is why knowing when is the best time to sell a house can be the difference between a long drawn out sale and failing to get the best price possible, and a quick sale achieving the desired selling price. If you are concerned about the noise pollution and the traffic, arrange viewings at times when they are not an issue. It is hard to check noise and traffic levels when a school is not in session and if you are comfortable with leaving the buyer doing their own due diligence, make sure the viewings are based on What hours of the day and/or days of the week there is an impact.
When it comes to selling your home, and asking yourself what’s my house worth, you have to know who your prospective buyers are. Proximity to school can reduce the value of a property up to 10% but live near the ‘right’ school and buyers can pay up to 10% more than their budget. In all cases, it is very site and school specific, but generally most homes located next to good schools preserve their value due to the desirability of people wanting the convenience of living close to their child's school. What you have to do when staging a home sale is to make sure that you try and time your viewings and your home sale to negate the disadvantages of living near a school zone. This can be limiting the viewings to times that avoid excess vehicle and pedestrian traffic as well as any noise pollution. It can also mean selling your home at times when there is no school at all, but in any case, living near a school zone presents a set of problems as well as benefits, that you can either negate or take advantage of to achieve the best and quickest possible sale.
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