Whether you are purchasing a home or selling a home, the value of the property will be of great interest to you. The value of any given property depended on quite a few different things. It would be nice if the value was based on the property alone, but this is not the case, factors that are out of your control also play a big role in determining the bottom line value of a home.

The Neighborhood - The neighborhood that the home is in is one of the major factors in determining value. This is partly due to the fact that homes bought & sold in the neighborhood will be used to compare when the original asking price for the home is determined. Also, the quality of the neighborhood itself plays a big role. An area where the yards are well kept, the streets are clean, and the homes are well maintained will have higher baseline real estate values than an area that is run down and dirty.

Schools - Whether or not you have children, schools have a definite impact on home values in their areas. People with children are always looking for homes in a good school zone. Plus school zones are usually more established areas and as such have a higher value.

Shopping & Recreation - Area that have close access to shopping centers (not too close mind you) tend to have a higher value as people do not want to have a long trip to pick up the necessities of daily life. Also being close to sites of recreation is handy, especially if you have kids who are into sports.

Crime Rate - The number of crimes in the area will have a huge impact on home prices as people will tend to shy away from purchasing in a high-crime area. Buyers will also likely take notice of what kind of crimes are most often committed in an area before moving in. It would seem the home buyers are concerned about home-based crimes, naturally.

City Planning - Also known as zoning. This is what will determine the future of the neighborhood and area in general. Are they planning on dropping a huge big box store in your backyard? This will no doubt have a huge effect on the value of a property and the neighborhood.

Selecting your area is one of the most important choices in home buying and is extremely important in the sales game. It is harder to sell homes in less developed areas and areas that are run-down. So plan ahead for your purchase or sale and get the most out of it.