Once you have established that you can afford to buy a home in the general area where you want to live, your next step should be to narrow your search to properties for sale in area or areas that are acceptable. Here is how the Internet can help you do that.
Start With an Overview
When you know the towns or cities where you want to live simply do a Google search to find all the information you need. In this example of Brevard County real estate you might search for Titusville real estate, Merritt Island and Real Estate and Cocoa Beach Real Estate. You can rely on any one of a number of search tools provided by the Websites you find when you search and this will tell you the availability of homes, condos and townhomes as well as price ranges. Let's start with Titusville.
Titusville Real Estate: During my search I found there are over 400 single-family homes listed for sale in Titusville that range in price from about $30,000 to over $1million. There are about 180 condominiums listed for sale that range in price from about $20,000 to just under $1million. So, this tells me that there are plenty of homes and condominiums for sale in the area that are priced so that just about anyone can afford to buy there. However, a further check tells us that this area appeals to lower-scale, lower income individuals and families. Only a small percentage of the families that live here have children and the median income is about $36,000.
Merritt Island Real Estate: In Merritt Island there are over 350 homes listed for sale that range in price from about $40,000 to almost $3 million. There are about 120 condominiums for sale ranging in price from $32,000 to about $800,000. Merritt Island population includes Military families, low income as well as middle and upper-end income families.
Cocoa Beach Real Estate: In nearby Cocoa Beach there are approximately 90 single-family homes on the market that range in price from about $90,000 to over $2 million. However there are over 300 condominiums available for sale that range in price from $45,000 to over $2 million. Right away I see this is a slightly more up-scale area and still not an area that appeals highly to families with children. There are a lot of retirees living in Cocoa Beach as well as military families. The median income is a little over $42,000.
Compare Median Home Values
When you compare median home values you get a similar picture of the three areas with Titusville, the most affordable of the three areas, having a median home value of about $70,000. Merritt Island home values are higher at about just over $147,000 and then Cocoa Beach with the highest home value in the area at $163,000.
Time to Shop for a Home
Now, whichever area you select, it is time to use the Internet tools to look at specific properties in your price range. So we can compare each area I will suppose that you are looking to buy a single family home priced from $250,000 to $350,000. In Titusville there are 39 homes that meet that criteria. There are 69 homes on the market in Merritt
Island that meet the criteria and in Cocoa Beach thee are only 14 homes to choose from. Now it is a fairly simple matter to study the properties in your price range. You may find that you like one particular area best but you find a home you like best in another area. Then you will have to decide. You did not expect the Internet to solve that kind of a problem did you?
About the Author:
Noel Markham, MA |
