How Much is a View Worth?

The Tuesday broker’s open Houses have been pretty light on the properties offered lately, due to the winter slowdown on top of the way the pandemic has forced change onto the business. Today’s brokers tour was larger than usual. This is a hopeful sign that people are becoming more comfortable with getting out. You just can’t beat walking through property to know if you want to buy it!

Today’s tour featured several detached houses and condos. The asking prices for the detached houses ranged from $589,000 to $1,624,900. You’re not going to see the starter homes on the broker’s tour in the current market – demand is so high that as soon as they hit the market they get offers, so sellers (and their agents) can afford to skip the broker’s open houses. Demand is still strong for the mid- to high- ends of the market but not as frenetic as the low-end.

Condos can still make sense for owner-occupied units. The owner must be committed to the condo lifestyle – there is a quality of life available. The return on investment will probably lag behind owning detached properties but the amenities might be something you will use and enjoy. If you’re thinking about going that direction you should do a lot of analysis.

All this talk about condos is generated by what I observed today. There were two different units in the same building. Same floor plan, same square footage, very different prices! One unit was on the fourth floor, with a “city view,” and asking $597,000. Nicely appointed, new, high-end finishes, great amenities, but fourth floor “city view.”

The other unit in that building was on the 22^nd floor, facing east across the river to Mt. Hood. Remember, same floor plan, same square footage. The asking price? $688,000. A simple calculation tells me that this view is worth $91,000. Now, regardless of asking price, property is ultimately worth what someone is willing to pay for it. My simple calculation does not take anything into consideration besides the delta of the two asking prices, but it also illustrates that view is an important component of price and value. What would you pay $91,000 for?