Whether you're moving across town or across the country, researching the quality of a new neighborhood or community is frequently more important to a homebuyer than the actual home itself. Homebuyers want to know about the quality of schools, cost of living, crime rates, average household income, average home sales and other information about the neighborhood. Finding neighborhood information is important not only for quality of life, but to ensure that your home will have a high resale value.
Neighborhood Profiles
Start researching neighborhoods by creating an overall neighborhood profile, which includes community data on population, race, income, poverty, employment, education, housing, crime and other statistics. The neighborhood profile should not only contain community information, but overall real estate data as well. Explore home values, ownership information, sales history and other housing information. RealtyTrac's Neighborhood Search allows you to create a customized neighborhood profile based on a wide variety of factors - including median home price, overall neighborhood character, demographics, school quality, crime rate and much more - and then search for actual neighborhoods that best fit your profile.
Crime Rates
Neighborhood trends, especially crime rates, can be useful guidelines when searching for a neighborhood. Declines in violent crimes such as homicides, robberies, rape and assaults, as well as drops in nonviolent crimes such as burglaries, auto thefts and larceny thefts, can give you a good indication of a neighborhood's profile. Property crime rates - burglaries, auto thefts and larceny thefts - are compiled annually by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and available through RealtyTrac's Neighborhood Search. While property crime rates don't grab as much attention as murders and bank robberies, they are considered a quality-of-life issue that also impact the home values of a neighborhood.
School Statistics
Evaluating schools in a neighborhood is also important. Search for schools in and around the community and analyze the number of schools, average class size, and spending per pupil. Compare the number of private schools to the number of public schools. Seek neighborhoods with schools that are recognized for academic achievement and special awards. For buyers who have children, the quality of schools is a vital issue. But even if you don't have children, schools are an important matter for resale and should always be taken into account. Moreover, for parents that work, childcare is also an important issue when considering a home purchase.
Housing
An important factor in determining neighborhood quality is household income. Buyers should be aware of the median household income in a particular city or county that they are considering. Household income varies by state. Median household income in the United States climbed between 2005 and 2006, reaching $48,200, according to the Census Bureau.
Cost of living is another element buyers need to consider when purchasing a home or investment property. Issues such as property taxes, housing expenses, food costs and other costs should be factored before buying. Local newspapers - particularly those that have a real estate section - are another good resource for finding out about new neighborhoods.
Before spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of your hard-earned money, do a thorough investigation of the neighborhoods you are looking at. If you're thinking of moving to a new area or even just interested in seeing how different places stack up against each other, visit the RealtyTrac Neighborhood Center.