You may have heard this before: "What are the three most important things to consider with real estate?" The answer, of course, is location, location, and location. So, everyone knows it’s important – but why?

Location is the single largest factor when determining property value, especially in Charleston, SC. Location is the only thing you cannot change about a home. You can take a not-so-impressive home and completely renovate it to the point that it is unrecognizable – new floors, new cabinets, and fresh paint. However, the location remains the same.

So, let’s say that you already know your price range, but you’re not sure about where to live in Charleston. If you want to buy a home with good resale value, be sure to look in highly desirable areas in Charleston. We recommend Mt. Pleasant and James Island because they are by far the most popular places to live in Charleston. And, of course any of the beaches in Charleston (Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Kiawah Island, and Seabrook Island) are a great choice, but only a small portion of home buyers can afford such expensive real estate.

Now that we’ve talked about broad areas in general that are good locations, let’s get a little more specific. Some neighborhoods are in better locations than others, and I don’t mean just that they’re closer to downtown Charleston or to the beaches. Some neighborhoods are located on roads with notoriously bad traffic, for example. Or another good example would be that some neighborhoods are located directly beside busy shopping malls, railroad tracks, or roads that get flooded easily.

And, getting even more specific, a home’s location within a neighborhood can also affect its value. For example, homes that are very close to the neighborhood’s entrance are considered high traffic areas. Many people looking to buy a home don’t want these houses, so these homes can be harder to sell in the future.

So, good location can be as broad as a town or city, and it can be as specific as the location within a neighborhood. Be sure to talk with your real estate agent about location if this is important to you because location greatly affects your home value now and in the future.