 MLSs use
it. Insurers use it. Appraisers use it. Tax Assessors use it. When it comes to
real estate, there’s no avoiding square footage as a measure of any home’s
value.
But how
much is square footage worth to you as a home buyer? Knowing the square footage
can be helpful, but it shouldn’t be the main tool to determine your offer
price.
Square
footage measurements aren’t exact, nor are they taken the same way by every
person.
For
example, your local tax assessor or appraiser may determine square footage by
measuring the outside of the house. A real estate professional, on the other
hand, typically counts only indoor living space to determine square footage.
Real
estate listings for single-family homes do not include square footage for
covered “outdoor” spaces, including porches, verandas, balconies and
porte-cocheres. Yet, in high-rise buildings, square footage quotes often
include balconies.
Further,
some elements such as stairways and closet spaces are also open to
interpretation. If you’re buying a home with a two-story foyer, is that foyer
space also counted on the second floor?
Another
measure that’s subjective is the price per square foot, which is determined by
the number of square feet divided into the price of the home. High-end homes
with expensive materials such as granite countertops and finishes such as
hardwood floors tend to have a much higher price per square foot than more
affordable homes.
But what
if those high-end features are 20 years old and you’re comparing them to other
similar homes in the area that are brand new?
Hallways,
landings and stairs can add hundreds of square feet to any home, but is that
space really livable? An open floor plan may have smaller square footage, but
be much more pleasant to live than a larger home with too much space allocated
to getting from one room to another.
All this
means that valuations based on square footage are and should be somewhat
subjective.
If you’re
confused about what you are paying per square foot for your next home, ask your
real estate professional how the home was measured for the listing and compare
it to local tax roll data you can find. If there is a bank appraisal, you can
ask the appraiser how the square footage was determined.
You’ll
find that the numbers often don’t match. If they don’t match, make certain to review
the comparables of other similar homes in the area with your real estate
professional, to help you determine a fair offer price.
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