Owning the best, biggest and/or nicest home on your street may be a real source of pride for many people, but it not the wisest decision from an investment standpoint.
It is important to remember to keep your home's value in line the others on your street, and in your immediate neighborhood, and not to over-build or over-improve your home. If you have outgrown your home, or want features in your home that are not generally found on your street, or in your neighborhood, it may be time to consider a move.
We have a few sayings in the real estate business- two that specifically pertain to owning the nicest home on the street.
One that you have heard over and over and over again is "Location, Location, Location". It's kind of trite and worn out at this point, but it holds true. The location of your home has everything to do with resale. Why is it that the same home on the other side of town is worth so much more money, or so much less? It's because of the location. The location issue also holds true for what side of the street you are on. Let's suppose that the thruway backs up to the street that you live on. It only backs up to one side of the street, right? Would you rather live on the side of the street that directly abuts the thruway, or the other side of the street that does not, given the choice?
Another saying we have in the real estate business is that "The Biggest and Best Come Down to Meet the Rest". Some examples of that can be found just about anywhere, and they are probably on your street, too. There is most always one house that seems to stand out from the others. Now its one thing to have a very well manicured property and well maintained home, but its quite another scenario when one home sticks out as being VERY big on a street with small houses. If that big home was on a street with other big homes, it would be worth more money. But because it's on a street with much smaller homes, it is devalued. The owner will not be able to recoup the money invested when he/she wants to sell.
I recently went to price a home for a very nice couple. There were over 50 houses on the street, and is a case in point. The town assessed the property at almost TWICE that of the average home on the street. When I conducted the evaluation, it was apparent that even though they had made wonderful improvements to the property, that if we were to price it for those improvements made, that they would be competing in the marketplace with homes in a much more desirable area of town. Their home would not sell if priced as such. There is a certain expectation of buyers with regards to pricing and areas, and the home's pricing would exceed those parameters. That is also not to mention that when the bank sends an appraiser out to the property, that the appraiser will catch that as well, and the buyer will not be able to obtain a loan based upon the appraisal.
When shopping for a home, keep this in mind. As a note, there is always the other side of the coin, which I do have to mention. If you want to buy the nicest home on the street, you should be getting a very good discount on it based upon other like homes in town. The reason that you buy the home is most likely the reason that your buyer will buy the home when you go to sell it. That is, that you will get more for your money.
If you already own the nicest home on the street, and are thinking about selling it, remember that although you may not get all of the money back from the cost of the improvements, that you did enjoy those improvements while you lived at the house. It has to be worth something, even if it's not money in your pocket.