Is Buying a home on a corner lot good or bad?

October 5th, 2007 categories: Real Estate News

It doesn’t seem very long ago that selling a home on a corner lot would create a positive buzz.  The lot would be a good selling point.  People like corner lots, right?  More square feet of grass in a lot, at least one less house immediately next door, more sun.  What could be better?

The truth is that, in most Columbus Neighborhoods, corner lots rob you and the kids of usable yard space.  When I’m showing houses to buyers, rarely are they excited about the possibility of purchasing that corner house.  Potential buyers cite reasons such as small backyards, over exposure to pedestrians and cars alike and less privacy both in and out of the house. 

Also, there is a common misnomer that homes on corner lots have higher taxes than others in the same neighborhood.  This is not true.  Franklin County real estate taxes are based solely on the County Auditors appraised value of your home and have nothing to do with how much sidewalk or street frontage you have.

A quick check of the Columbus MLS says that over the last four years, about 2800 homes on corner lots have been sold in Central Ohio and that the selling price for those homes on corner lots averaged only 92.4% of the average selling price for all single family homes in that year.  Additionally, they were on the market an average of about a week longer than all homes during those 4 years.

What are your thoughts on corner lots?  Love it? Tell me why.