What is the Best Area to Buy In?
- Adam Garrett
- Apr 10, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 21, 2024
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Why this Question is Legally Tricky
As I mention in my article Seemingly Harmless Questions With Major Consequences if Answered Directly, this question is a bit tricky legally. If an agent were to provide merely their opinion on this issue, they could easily be accused of steering. Conversely, if the agent is the source of factual data in a universal way that could inform a buyer about best areas, it's not so problematic, and I would argue, a lot better than someone's opinion. Keep in mind that I am not an attorney and that an attorney is best consulted for opinions on the law.
While sometimes accusations are warranted by prejudiced agents, it's also very easy for agents to be accused of violating Fair Housing Law regarding "steering" if they share opinions on certain issues even if the agent is completely unaware of any prejudices that might influence their decision. According to the balance, "Steering is a practice in real estate where agents discriminate toward prospective buyers and only show properties based on the buyer's race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other protected factors.."
According to the same article from the Balance, "real estate agents may choose not to comment on specific aspects of a community or neighborhood, preferring to give you resources on things like school system scores and crime statistics rather than offering something that could be construed as an opinion. If you notice your agent providing you with resources or statistics rather than opinions, they are trying to be an unbiased resource for you—they're not withholding information."
"Best" Depends Heavily on Personal Preferences, But I have Some Resources to Help
Thus far, while I've seen some decent algorithms for determining "best", "best" is ultimately heavily dependent on personal preferences, and buyers typically don't have exclusively 1 factor determining where they're going to buy. Here are some of the factors:
Factors to Consider to Help Determine Where to Find Your New Home
SE VA Environmental Area Guide (often with applicable elements nationwide)
Proximity to work (Related: Commute Factor Considerations; Traffic Comparison in Hampton Roads; Capitalize On Your Commute)
Proximity to family
Proximity to other common place they'll be going to (i.e. gym, place of worship, etc.)
Local amenities (Related: Free Things to Do in & Around VA (1500+ Options worldwide, with likely >97% in VA or an adjacent state, and >90% in VA))
Neighborhood amenities
School districts,
Prices & other metrics. (Related: Zip Code Data for Home Purchases
Things to Do (see "Things to Do" section in area guide for multiple articles)
There are often many other factors involved that matter, many of which are present in my area guide, differences in government policy, tax rates, and more.
I go over dozens of these factors in my Master Spreadsheet for Prospective Home Purchase Considerations
I provide a breakdown by SE VA city/county in my SE VA City Information & Real Estate Property Info where I've done a lot of the legwork already for you.
I also have a guide on House Issues by Year that includes the % of homes by decade (& Pre 1900) in Hampton Roads.
3rd Party Solution (Niche) to Asking "What is the Best Area to Buy In?" Has Too Many Problems
If you'd prefer to have a composite model for "best" by zipcode, Niche has done that for you, but their "best" vs your "best" are likely to be very different, and there are a lot of other problems, including many missing locations with no score, whether good or bad, that you'll miss if you rely exclusively on their algorithms.
E. Lowest Cost of Living
F. Best for Young Professionals
H. Healthiest
I'm purposefully excluding one Niche option here due to the possibility of abuse & legal issues.
Here are the biggest problems I find:
Many locations are missing. Notice all of the unranked locations in York County & Newport News? That's not because the zip codes aren't present.
Even zoomed in there are no results:
2. Also, even their A+ zipcodes can have a relatively high % of properties requiring flood insurance for any mortgage (which can be a few hundred dollars per year or more than a few thousand dollars per year)
which just goes to show you that even when broken down by zipcode, it's still critical to look at the individual property area & to not rely exclusively on a search. Likewise, I see examples in SE VA where 1 A+ zipcode has less than half the real estate tax rate vs another A+ zipcode, but a property in a C+ zip code has lower tax rates than both & lower price per square foot cost.
Also, it's best to Zoom in relatively close with Niche's "best" zipcodes. For instance, if looking throughout SE VA, you can actually see some zip codes that are rated B when A+'s on the same map are invisible simply because you're not zoomed in enough. Here's what I mean:
Here's part of Hampton Roads zoomed out where you can see a B & B+'s:
Here's a zoomed-in version of Norfolk with 4 A-'s to A+'s that weren't visible on that zoomed out view until zooming in:
Be Mindful of Bias When People Respond to This Question; Let the Data Speak
Many people, especially real estate agents, are biased toward favoring the area that they live in (or in the case of RE agents, their coverage area). One way to test people in this arena is to ask the question of what's the best place to move to, with no qualifiers about what you're looking for exactly. If they don't ask you any questions about your preferences, and especially if they wouldn't know you well enough to know some of what you like, and they provide concrete direct answers to this question, I question the legitimacy of their response.
For instance, if you're looking for waterfront navigable to the ocean, and you haven't told them, they could provide you with a city or county where that wouldn't be possible. On the flip side, if you want a home where you can walk out your door and access ski slopes, waterfront navigable to the oceanfront typically won't ever be a good fit in VA. Likewise, if you're looking for something in the $200k range, and the median price is $800k where they suggest, you'll find very slim pickings.
Conversely, if you ask the question, and they give you options based on a data-backed source-cited approach, that can mean a lot more than someone's opinion.
Related:
About the Author: Adam Garrett - 3rd Generation REALTOR®
Adam is the 3rd generation in a line of award-winning real estate agents serving SE VA. He has served full time at Garrett Realty Partners since May 2014 when he joined the marketing department before transitioning to full-time sales to assist buyers and sellers in February 2015. He believes that an educated buyer or seller makes the best decisions, & is dedicated to helping with that both digitally & on-site physically for buyers & sellers. He's also available for referrals to real estate agents around the globe. In several capacities, his resources & direct offerings for assisting sellers & assisting buyers are either unmatched or are top 1% for the SE VA area, and in some cases, nationwide. Not stopping after closing, he also provides information for tenants, landlords, & homeowners.
Related for Buyers:
Related for Sellers:
While Adam can refer buyers and sellers elsewhere, Adam’s direct coverage includes most of SE VA including Hampton Roads (VA Peninsula, Southside, & Middle Peninsula), the Northern Neck, & Greater Richmond.
Adam's Coverage Map with Adam's 5 Multiple Listing Services highlighted in orange & areas without good MLS coverage excluded:
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