(Flickr photo by Biking Nikon PDX)
Every now and then, I’m surprised by the New York Times.
Last weekend’s Real Estate section caught me off balance as well. The newspaper of record hauled out a dried up chestnut to devote its lead story and more than a full page to the matter of calculating square footage.
If you don’t know by now that square footage is never ever correct, then you haven’t looked at condos, co-ops or townhouses in the Big Apple.
Not only have I joined the legion of writers who have noted that the calculations are unreliable, but I contend that the amount of square footage is beside the point. Cost per square foot is consequently deceptive, for which explanation I refer you to the Times.
What counts is not cost per square foot but how a property compares in price with other apartments and townhouses on the market. Even more important is how much (and that means how many dollars) buyers think their next home is worth to them, how weary they are of looking and how heavy a burden their monthly costs will be.
In other words, only by looking and looking some more can buyers know for themselves the value to them of a given property.
Square footage doesn’t matter at all, especially since two professionals never come up with the same measurement for the same property, never mind two different properties. Go forth, then, and get to know the market.
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Malcolm Carter
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
Senior Vice President
Charles Rutenberg Realty
127 E. 56th Street
New York, NY 10022
M: 347-886-0248
F: 347-438-3201
Malcolm@ServiceYouCanTrust.com
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