The importance of location in real estate

You can change everything about a house except where it sits. The kitchen, the roof and the pool are all negotiable; the street is not.

Location decides three things: the light you get, the noise you hear and the value you keep. The first two you can measure on a visit. The third takes a little history, and that is what an agent is for.

In Los Angeles a canyon view adds more than a second bathroom. In Paris the floor matters more than the square metres. In London the square you face is the price.

Our advice is simple: pick the street first, then the house, then the finishes. Reverse that order and you will spend the difference later.