How does number of bedrooms impact price if square footage is equal

Question:

All homes listed have 1.5 baths, are close in square footage (1200-1270 sq feet), historic, built in same time period (1870s-1880s), and located in the same neighborhood: Home #1: Sold for $517/sq ft this month. Three bedrooms. Two of three bedrooms are small but would accommodate twin bed, nursery, or office. Home #2: Sold for $518/sq ft this month. Two bedrooms. Renovated kitchen with granite, cherry, stainless. My house, home #3, sold for $480/sq ft one year ago. One true bedroom. Also has a large room (but no door) that is used as informal living space or could be a home office. A third small room is used as a laundry/walk-in closet. If the closet fittings were removed, it could be used as an office or nursery (it has windows). For listing purposes, it was counted as a second bedroom. To access the "laundry" room and the full bathroom from the rest of the house, you must walk through the bedroom. What is Home 3 worth now relative to Homes 1 & 2?

Answer:

The prices of residential real estate are often "notional". That is to say that notions in the buyers and sellers of real estate will impact the price in ways that we can't always quantify. In a large market like Alexandria, real estate is a commodity in the sense that it is difficult to find something the market hasn't already rewarded or punished. But is it not a commodity in the sense that you can tally a square footage price and add an amount per bedrooms or multiply the price by a certain factor based upon the number of bedrooms. Are they at the same address? In the same building? In your example above, what is the view from these units? Is the condition of these properties identical? Even a licensed appraiser with answers to all these questions would be hard-pressed to give you an answer without know the tax assessments and the contract price on these properties. In the end, a home is worth exactly what a buyer will pay for it, if the seller will sell for that amount.
Will Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt
Will Nesbitt is the principal broker of Condo Alexandria / Nesbitt Realty.