Location is more important today than ever in terms of a home as an investment

You may have noticed the headlines recently about how in 2010 the net worth of the American family dropped by nearly 40%.

Of course, it’s not surprising considering we were coming off the Great Recession.

But you can imagine how this has changed the mindset of most Americans.

When it comes to buying a house, more than any time in history, Americans are very concerned about the value of their home as an investment.

And you know how location plays an enormous role in that investment.

There’s an interesting article in Investopedia about the importance of location in choosing a home in terms of making sure the price of your property grows (or at least doesn’t drop).

And one of the best tools you can use to emphasize your expertise as a real estate pro in terms of the dollar value of location is the SpatialMatch IDX and Lifestyle search engine.

Take employment opportunities for example. Sure, you want to be located as close to where you work as possible. But you want to also be close to where other people work as well.

A savvy professional can use their map-based SpatialMatch web tool to show the various locations of large employers in the area. Office parks. Industrial parks.

Don’t forget to include government offices, hospitals and schools in that demonstration because they have major payrolls (see example for hospitals in Charlotte, NC below).

Speaking of schools, sure, we all know the value of living in close proximity to a school.

But if the home buyer has high school-age children, be sure to use SpatialMatch to show them where the middle and elementary schools are located as well.

Yes, they may have heard those schools were nearby. But showing them you have the exact location and distance from properties under consideration adds to your credibility and expertise.

Lifestyle amenities – they add value. Ever seen an L.A. Fitness facility? It’s the size of a small college. What a great place to play and work out.

Golf course – a no brainer.

Is there a large park down the street? Who wouldn’t want that?

How close is downtown? Is there a riverwalk? Four-star restaurants clustered in one area?

Maybe you can point out the nearest mall. There are tons of amenities in there from grabbing a coffee indoors to sitting in the twelve-plex movie theater to getting your nails done. All in one place nearby.

And you can show it all in one place with the SpatialMatch web tool embedded on your site.

In fact, you can show details of the property AND the lifestyle amenities side by side.

Yea, we heard it all before and so have home buyers and seller. A home is the biggest investment they will make.

But this decade, that rings true by a factor of 100. Because as we have seen, all homes do not increase in value.  Some homes can cost buyers more in the long run.

You will score major points with consumers with your SpatialMatch neighborhood database because you can emphasize not just  location, location, location, but how that may translate into  dollar signs for them later on.

That will get their attention. And when they sell in four years, who are they going to call? You, the location expert with the best map-based location database in real estate.

For a demonstration on how SpatialMatch can help you with home buyers and sellers, click here.

For a link to the Investopedia article, click here.