A lot of the buyers we work with would like a home with some privacy. A wooded backyard would be terrific if it can be found! Now depending on the type of housing our buyers want, finding a wooded lot can be really challenging, particularly with our Cincinnati patio home buyers.
Most area builders understand the desire for privacy and wooded lots, and charge a lot premium for those type lots. And sometimes those lot premiums can be REALLY significant! Last year we had patio home buyers building in the 55+ community. Cleared level lots were available for no lot premium. But the cul de sac lot that backed up to the woods that fill the hillside space above the Little Miami River? That lot was an extra $40,000. And that is by no means the highest lot premium we've seen in our market.
Is it worth it to spend that much extra? The answer is "it depends".
Does your budget allow for the surcharge?
Is the extra privacy worth the extra cost to you?
And how likely is that wooded view likely to stay wooded?
For instance there's a luxury patio home/condo community in Deerfield Township called Fox Hollow. The condos typically sell high $300s and 400s, the patio homes are $500,000 and up. A large part of the patio homes' appeal is the wooded land immediately behind them.
But that thick band of woods is now at risk. Recently we received an email announcing a new subdivision called Kensington. Luxury homes with some SERIOUS lot prices, especially those lots that are more private.
Below is a map photo showing the Kensington footprint, and we added some red arrows to show where a portion of Fox Hollow's patio homes were built (they're not on the map, but the west side of the street is built from south to north).
Depending on how many of those trees the Kensington development preserves, there could be a substantial reduction in the privacy currently enjoyed by Fox Hollow condos and homes on the wooded west side of the community.
Obviously, this type of occurence isn't all that rare in a growing area like ours. If you don't own it, you don't control it.
We've seen owners of adjacent land harvest the timber and POOF, that view will never be the same. Add in former farmer's fields that become full scale subdivisions so the privacy once offered by acres of corn and soybeans now becomes "howdy neighbor" at a range of 100 feet. And that premium for the lot on Hole #7? POOF when the golf course went under and the land was sold to become MORE houses.
So take into account the probability of what will happen with undeveloped land next to your prospective home BEFORE you spend major dime to acquire it.
Give Bill a call at 513-520-5305 or email Liz@LizSpear.com and we can discuss whether we can help you with your Cincinnati area home search.
Serving the Cincinnati home buyers and sellers,
Bill of Liz and Bill aka BLiz
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