Special offer

Million Dollar View? Not so fast

By
Real Estate Agent with Cherry Creek Properties LLC 006387

Highlands Ranch Homes and the Value of the Coveted Mountain View

Typically when familes or couples are making the life-altering decision of where they should settle down and make a home they have certain, uncompromising sticking points regaring the house they choose. Square footage, location, stlye, and layout, are some typical examples of these "must have" requirments. And then there are the features of their potential home which fall under the "boy, that would be nice" category. For some, having a view of the mountains falls in the former. "must have" category, and for others the latter, "boy, that would be nice" category. That being said, in my opinion, there is nothing quite like stepping out of the door in the morning and witnessing the Rocky Mountains in all of their splendor. That moment explains the phrase "million dollar view". 

The price of beauty

For those who have the mountain view in their "must have" column, they will soon find that it will not be made a reality without paying a price. Home builders and developers realize the home buyers are frequently willing to pay more for a home than it may actually be worth. This begs the obvious question, how much is a sweet mountin view really worth?Based on a few simple calulations comparing 5 months of Highlands Ranch home sales between 300 and 500k. The results surprised me a bit, as the difference was not as considerable as I thought it might be. There were 159 home sales which did not have mountain views and 80 sales of homes which did have mountain views, both sample groups sold at nearly 98% of the listing price. The most effectice way to measure the difference in total cost is price per square foot; sans a mountain view the homes sold for $150 persquare foot, while with a moutnain view they sold for $153 per square foot. All in all, you're only looking at a difference of $7,500, assuming the homes were 2,500 square feet. Maybe not a million dollar view after all... 

Not all mountain views are created equal

When listed on paper, all homes appear to have the same quality mountain view, as the attribute is typically just indicated by a check in a checkbox. However, not all mountain views are created equally, and you should take the qaulity of a given home's mountain view into consideration when making an offer on a home. There is a big difference between a moutain view that is visible through half the windows in the house, and one that is visivle only when standing on the toilet and peeking out through the vent...

Want more Highlands Ranch Real Estate info? Check these links!

Living in Highlands Ranch

Highlands Ranch Foreclosures

The Kuchar Team 9155 Mountain Brush Ct., Highlands Ranch, CO 80130 (720) 266-4619


 

Comments (0)