Is it true that smaller houses sell for more money?

[oldtrader]

Originally Posted by adolpho

Subtract what the lot is worth, then compute cost PSF.

That does not give you an accurate value for any home. Lets say there are two houses in the same subdivision. Lots are both the same size, and both worth $80,000.

One is the higher quality and supper fine features, with 1600 square feet in size, upscale quality throughout. It is 3 bedrooms and two full baths. It has a dream kitchen with upscale cabinets and appliances. There is a great fireplace in the living room. To the rear there is a beautiful covered patio with a outdoor kitchen with built in grill fixtures, wood fired pizza oven. The first thing when they drive up to see the home is great looking home all on one floor, with fantastic landscaping and double garage, the best curb appeal in the subdivision. It is the kind of home that the majority of people would walk in and fall in love with it.

One is 3200 square feet, 2 story, and very basic quality the largest home in the subdivision. It has 1 full guest bath with lower quality fixtures and cabinetry. A small master bath, with low quality fixtures and a kitchen with very basic cabinets and appliances. The only thing it has going for it, is it has larger rooms but just feels like someone stacked a bunch of boxes together. Worst curb appeal in the subdivision with an unappealing looking home, grass only front and back.

There is no way, that you can come up with a value on a per square feet basis, and double it to get a value on the larger home. It's value per square foot, would be worth considerable less than the smaller home.

This is why the other factors are taken into consideration by an appraiser to determine the value of the home.

There are times, it is almost impossible to determine the value of a property based on other sold properties. Ours is one of them. It is the only 4 level home without a basement in the area. It is the only very contemporary home in the area. It has 25 feet of soaring windows in the living room. Beautiful rock work floor to ceiling using Moss Rock wall for the living room fireplace. In the garden level, there is a river rock area designed to hold a heating stove. One acre landscaped, and the other 4 acres having a barn, and rail fence. One of finest views of the rocky mountains 96 miles away in the whole area. Yes our air is so clean, you can clearly see mountain peaks 96 miles away.

When determining the value of real estate the cost per square foot is so variable as each home is unique, and the value per square foot is not determined till after it has been appraised for it's value. It is determined after the value has been determined, and is not used to determine the value of the home itself. This is what I was taught in Appraisal Classes at a major university.