When we talk about “points of interest” for property research, what does that mean?
There are many points of interest as can be seen on any Google map and filtering options. The “interest” priority though must be objectively assessed against the profile of the user. Elderly people might be more concerned with nearby hospitals or medical centres, couples with children might prioritise school feeder boundaries, shift workers might be interested in road and other daily noise, young urban couples might want local cafes and restaurants, and so on.
However, when choosing where to live, many people seem to overlook the relevance of points of interest to risk and lifestyle. The focus is usually very specific, being mostly on the aspects of the home into which the occupier is looking to move. That would include the number of bedrooms, parking areas, outside space, and security. While those aspects must be considered, they should not be looked at in isolation, as your home cannot be an island, unaffected by the local area. The right home that ends up being in the “wrong” area leads to buyer remorse and the need to consider selling up sooner and re-locating.
The importance of location has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has re-focussed attention to the home and surrounds due to the rapid expansion of working from home (WFH). While now allowing people to live further from offices and major transport routes, it would seem that WFH should also elevate the need to assess local points of interest. Consider the following examples of such local points of interest and think about how they may relate to your circumstances:
- Malls and shopping centres
- Doctors and hospitals
- Hotels and clubs
- Schools
- Theatres
- Restaurants and cafes
- Transport hubs/stops
- Traffic conditions at various times of day
- Age and family characteristics demographics
- Crime levels
- Parks and recreation areas
- Sporting facilities
- Trees and other vegetation
- Industrial areas and waste/pollutant contamination
- Flood zones
- Bushfire risk
- Cultural and ethnicity mix
- Occupations and income
Now consider the above in the context of what the profiles of other home seekers might be such as:
- First home buyers
- Young families (with children)
- Older families
- Singles
- Property investors
- Renovators
- Upsizers (looking for a bigger home)
- Downsizers (looking for a smaller home)
- Tree/sea changers (moving out of the city)
- Empty nesters (older people whose children have moved out)
- Crisis sellers (needing to sell to pay off debts)
The core theme here is that property research should be including prioritisation of points of interest as an important factor in choosing the right lifestyle, in addition to the right home. People working from home are now able to consider a much wider geographic scope for where they might be able to find their preferred lifestyle. Unless they already know those various localities very well, it would seem that local points of interest are essential data for making the right choice of where to live. In many cases, just a few blocks away can make a world of difference.
