Calculating Square Footage of Homes

“What’s the square footage?”…”What’s the price per square foot?”…these are two of the most common questions I’m asked by a client. I’ll discuss square footage below, as for determining value based upon a price per square foot…that’s another topic!

When you are on the hunt for your next home, the first and most important thing you will consider is LOCATION. Everything hinges on being in the right spot; the best schools, best amenities; best commute…the “best” the “best” the “best”. The next most important consideration varies depending on your specific requirements. It is safe to say however that size matters and that the question “How many square feet does it have?” will come up. When it does, you might want to keep the answer in context. Here’s why… Real estate agents in Georgia are strongly cautioned against providing the square footage (living area) of homes. While I cannot find the exact reason, I’m told that in the past figures were so often skewed that legal action was finally taken by buyer(s) that felt misinformed. Part of the outcome of that action resulted in GA real estate agents being advised not to quote living area. I know the local MLS firms will not permit it, beyond that I can find little else about the reason(s) why.

As a Georgia certified appraiser, I actually agree with this policy. For years I taught a class to agents that focused on how their “embellishment” of a client’s home was hurting them; overstating living area, room count, condition, location, etc made life miserable both for their clients and appraisers. Many agents tell people what they want to hear, especially agents that are soliciting listings. The Atlanta real estate market is saturated with overpriced misrepresented homes that have little chance of selling. Now more than ever accuracy in list price, descriptions, disclosure items, and many other potential legal pitfalls are critical. Many agents either disregard this or simply lack the knowledge to properly advise their clients. The result is a home that doesn’t sell and a client that has to start over with a “tainted” home. When it’s relisted, it now has the baggage of an expired listing with it. But I digress, this is about living area.

In addition to holding my Georgia real estate license, I’m also a Georgia certified appraiser. Since getting into real estate in 1989, I’ve been a certified appraiser in New York and North Carolina as well. Having completed well over 10,000 appraisals and reviews and closed hundreds of transactions, the best source of guidance for calculating living area for both real estate professionals and the public is posted on the North Carolina Real Estate Commission web site. I strongly suggest reviewing this as it is very informative: CLICK HERE 

As the owner of large appraisal firms in New York and here in Georgia, we carefully trained our appraisers to follow the standards outlined by the American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI). While my appraisers were careful, conscientious and aware of the guidelines, often our review process would result in minor differences in living area figures. This from professional appraisers! What we found were slight differences in rounding, tape vs. laser measuring devices, different interpretations of dormers and similar things all play a part. There were no huge differences and all were within industry guidelines, but no two measurements ever came up the same. Bottom line is this, whatever anyone tells you regarding the square footage of a home, do not take it literally.

You can see from the NC information that the potential for error, rounding differences, different interpretation of guidelines and any number of other factors can and will have a bearing on the figure reported. You will see differences between the living area figures reported on tax records, appraisals, plans and other data sources. No two measurements will result in the same figure – at best you should hope for a narrow range and use that as a guide.

 

Hank Miller, SRA, ABR has been appraising and selling real estate since 1989. He has owned and operated large residential appraisal firms in NY and GA, been the senior staff review appraiser for one of the largest private lenders in the country, and completed independent quality control and foreclosure appraisals/reviews for select lenders. He is a consistent multimillion dollar realtor and he and his team serve buyers and sellers in North Metro Atlanta