Does An HOA Effect My Property Value?

How HOAs Affect Property Values

Not everyone appreciates the importance of a homeowners’ association (HOA). But they often play an essential role in preserving the value of a property. In many cases, they may even increase market value and enhance the community’s viability to prospective buyers.

Of course, many factors can affect property values, including the house’s physical condition, the care and maintenance of the grounds, and so on. But even the state of nearby residences and the community, in general, can affect the value of particular homes. This is where HOAs come in.

HOAs are community-based organizations that perform many functions, including preserving the value of individual homes and the neighborhood at large. They do this by implementing rules and guidelines for the care and maintenance of properties according to standards agreed upon by homeowners.

The rules and regulations implemented by HOAs vary from community to community. But these generally involve maintaining cleanliness, visual harmony, health and safety, and so on. In most cases, the goal is to have all homes adhere to established safety and aesthetic standards.

Here are some of the ways by which HOAs could benefit a community:

1) Property Preservation

One of the primary functions of an HOA is to ensure that homeowners maintain a minimum acceptable standard of property care and maintenance. This usually means serving notice to property owners with visible garbage and clutter outside their homes, poorly kept yards, open sewage, or any other issues that could negatively impact health and public safety. In some communities, HOAs may even impose rules regarding how houses are painted or decorated. These actions help ensure the preservation of property values.

2) Raising Property Values

Homes in communities that have HOAs generally have higher values than homes in neighborhoods without HOAs. This is due to several factors, including better property care and upkeep, a more visually harmonious area, and so on. Regardless of the reason, you could generally expect homes in HOA-serviced communities to cost 5% to 6% more than their non-HOA counterparts.

3) Improving Market Appeal

The rules and guidelines implemented by HOAs help improve the market appeal of individual homes to prospective buyers. They can ensure that homeowners adhere to community-approved property care standards, grounds maintenance, and other aspects that make homes more attractive to potential buyers. All factors being equal, people in the market for new properties are more likely to favor houses in communities with a homeowner’s association.

4) Ensuring Visual Harmony

Some HOAs implement guidelines and recommendations regarding exterior home designs and features. Admittedly, some homeowners may consider such rules an intrusion on their right to design their homes as they see fit. Even so, they generally create a more harmonious and cohesive appearance, resulting in a more pleasant-looking neighborhood. This often results in raising overall property values in the community.

Homeowners’ associations may not seem tremendously important, but they serve many essential functions to communities and individual homeowners. HOAs help preserve and even raise the value of individual properties and the neighborhood in general by implementing rules and guidelines for home care and maintenance. With an HOA servicing the community, you are assured a more pleasant and harmonious area in which homes retain their values.

If you are looking for HOA management services for your community, be sure to reach out to our team!