Sunday, April 26, 2009

What if Sun Exposure will Determine the Price of Property?

I'm sitting here chilling in the backyard and enjoying the garden and I began to think if My wife and I ever had to move; we would defiantly want another place that has good sun exposure in the backyard. And this led me to start thinking about, what if in the future the price of homes are valued by the type of sun exposure they receive. It's something to think about especially with the solar craze and sustainability boom in effect. You never know how prime your next residents will be based on the sun.

7 comments:

Melissa ~ Mom to 6 said...

As a Realtor, I often have clients (myself included) that include the way a home faces in their criteria. For us, since we get snow, a south facing house was desirable as we wanted the use of the sun to melt the snow off plus we want our backyard on the north side of the house - so we have shade in the afternoon/evening when we're out there enjoying the yard. So yes, in a way, there IS value in having sun exposure.

ATW said...

Melissa- thats amazing. I have guys asking me all the time about how to purchase a home. I give advice based on my experience and I have never thought about this until now. But I see that especially in your case sun exposure is crucial to how you want your home to operate. I will definately take sun in to affect when we purchase our next home. Thanks for the comment

The Beneficial Bee said...

This would be the best case scenario for us. I would love to trade some sun for some water. We live off a well and are stuck in a drought.
My husband is trying to convince me to invest in solar panels but I am waiting for the price to get lower!

ATW said...

Beneficial Bee- Sorry about the drought. I would love to share all the water we have been getting with everybody. Im with you on waiting till the price of solar goes down. I don't understand why being green means you have to have alot of money, everything is so expensive

joco said...

Hiya,

I must be missing something here, as I can't figure out the argument.
Isn't there always sun on the roof? Best place for solar panels anyways.
If it is energy sources you are talking about.
Personally I dislike sun, particularly the low western sun, so for me a garden in the shade is most important.
Others prefer the western sun, as that is the time they come home from work. I guess everybody is different, so there will always be a buyer for most exposures.
I was also confused about your 'chilling out', and thought you didn't want to sit in the sun :-)
But you probably mean chilling in the warmth? Right?
And there we are thinking we speak the same language :-)
jo

ChristyACB said...

Since my house was built as I bought it (meaning the contractor built it and I agreed to pay X for the finished product but I decided the plans and details, which keeps them from "overruns" that cost a fortune) I got to choose the roofline and all that. The way the property faces was a major consideration for me for both home efficiency and garden plant sunlight. The roofline angle was super important for adding solar hot water heater (this fall!) and maybe eventually solar panels.

So, depending on who you are, I think it always mattered. It is just that now people are considering more than just whether they get summer shade on their deck. Now they are thinking solar (even if just for hot water) and passive heating, etc.

If you have a good aspect, it is like money in the bank in the future, I think.

ATW said...

Jo-Your right most if not all roofs get sun exposure. What I was trying to refer to was the importance of using the sun to live a more sustainable life. For instance gardening and as you mentioned solar power. I can see how in the future people will probably be more concerned about where they will place there garden on the new property as well as what type of curtains to get for the windows. And yes we speak the same language. Im quite sure my chilling out is the same as yours, just spelled differently;)

Christy- thats interesting, I think it's impressive that you took those things into consideration. They are important. If we happen to purchase a vacation home which we are thinking about, I am seriously looking into our self sustainable needs. Thanks for the comments