Residential Property Factors

Factors That Affect Residential Property Values

The patterns of residential development have been an extensive literature under review by different individuals. It has been a scope for decision making, business affiliations, academic exercise and many others. In the real estate market, where there is the buying and selling of land, buildings and other related properties, it is known to thrive under the element known as price/rent. In as much as this is true, location counts for one. The wide spread of residential properties throughout Ghana and now the Wa Municipality is dependent on the rental sector for the supply of housing. The increasing population in Wa has given rise to the demand for more residential properties and it’s usage. The

In the real estate market, there is an adage stating the three most important factors which determine property values as (i) location, (ii) location and (iii) location. Spatially, no two properties are the same and indeed, there is a consensus among valuers that location is the most important factor in property value determination (McCluskey et al., 2000). The importance of location is evident by the fact that location physically fixes a property in space and thereby defines its distance from features such as commercial, transportation and leisure activities. Again, in cases where houses within a particular sub-market or neighbourhood are homogeneous, many of the amenities that are common to those properties are best represented by location (Gelfand et al., 1998). Location is an inherent attribute of a house which directly determines the quality and thus the market value of the house. The theory of housing immobility is premised on location. The influences and implication of location on the value of residential property may arise from a number of sources. These sources are grouped under neighbourhood quality and accessibility (McClauskey et al., 2000). In Airship for instance, location has been one of the inherent factors that is likely to affect rent in the municipality since it is closer to the central business

Neighbourhood amenities are very essential and thus are deemed necessary services which cause attractions within the neighbourhood that makes life more easy and comfortable for the inhabitants. If a particular site generally has good and high level of amenities like schools, hospitals, shopping facilities, leisure facilities, road and other transportation networks, etc., then it will be a more pleasant place to live in than other site with less amenity level. It will therefore be expected that higher prices will be paid to stay in such neighbourhoods. As Brigham (1965) note, the level of amenity in a neighbourhood is obviously a qualitative factor. It can therefore be determined subjectively by different individuals. Even though it cannot be measured directly, its value can be measured (Brigham, 1965). The perceived levels of security in a neighbourhood is determined by factors such as the level of crime, number of drug users in that neighbourhood, etc., (Gallimore et al 1996). If there is low level of crime and drug users in a neighbourhood for instance, coupled with the presence of police post, the security level will be high and the individuals within the neighbourhood will live in comfort and peace. Property values in such neighbourhood will therefore be higher than other neighbourhoods with less security. All other things being equal,