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Real estate journalist Andrew Winter. Picture: Adam Ward.
Source: Supplied

What is normal? By definition it is conforming to the standard, the common type, and the regular, or just plain usual.

In my real estate career I was often referred to as not normal. I wasn’t very good at confirming to the standard; I never wanted to wear a tie, was more excited about a listing because of the house and the owners rather than the fee, I loathed sales conferences and preferred pulling out fingernails to attending motivational seminars.

But I want to discuss normality, not in relation to real estate agents, but to areas and particular suburbs.

Understanding the normal elements of an area can really help you either as a seller, or as a buyer. Knowing this means less wasted time seeking features that homes in that area just don’t have, or worrying unnecessarily about a negative with your home that in fact is so common it isn’t really an issue.

Imagine you are a buyer, you see a home you really like, it suits you perfectly but the backyard is really steep. It would be prohibitively expensive to change this. You don’t mind, but you are worried if you came to sell in the future buyers would be deterred.

Firstly note in your property search how many other homes have steep gardens. Let’s say more than a third. If that’s the case you really have very little to worry about providing you pay the right price. How much is that? Well it is slightly less than a similar home with the perfect level yard.

If few properties have steep yards and this home is unusual, you want pay a figure that reflects this substantial negative.

This rule can apply to anything from main road positions to power lines, railway tracks and even flight paths. It can even by an architectural style, or typical size of a home, block, or aspect.

These ‘normals’ can be good or bad. That great view of the bush, in some areas, may be seen from half the housing stock or more, so its impact is less important in terms of value and desirability. In an area where open bush views are rare, this could be a real positive and you, as a buyer, would be expected to pay a premium.

Even your search process can be assisted if you know what is likely to be typical for an area. So demanding a level block in a hilly area, or a character home in an area of new estates – well these are extremes but you would be surprised how many people do seek an unusual property purely because of a lack of local knowledge. And any agent can tell you how much time can be wasted where buyers do not know what to expect in an area for their budget.

Here is the irony though. The more homes impacted by an areas ‘normal element’ – even if it is an undesirable negative feature – the more acceptable it becomes. Strange but true.

As a seller you too need to be aware of your areas acceptable, or normal elements. To know can reduce concerns and avoid wasting money on improvements that simply may not be necessary.

Perhaps you are a seller in a new suburb with many homes under 10 years old and new estates literally selling all around you?

In these situations presentation and fittings are everything. You need to update and go for the display home look throughout could pay back dividends. However you maybe living in a much more established, and you have a 10 year old kitchen you think is out of date a little. But when you discover that other homes like yours are either listed with unrenovated kitchen, or with designs that are hardly home of the week showcase material, it means you don’t need to worry about upgrading.

Perhaps you are very concerned about a lack of garage, or parking in your urban area? You need to consider if this is actually a real negative, or just a common issue that buyers in your market are clearly not deterred by. Of course you price accordingly but that lack of parking is not a big dramatic issue in your locality, so no need for concern.

Often I hear of sellers with older units, worrying that their apartment hasn’t a balcony and all the new ones do. You may discover that your market for older units is perfectly accepting of balcony-free properties. Suddenly it is normal and not a negative.

So buyers and sellers, just get to know your area and what are the acceptable norms. Note that these can be in both the ‘nice to have’ and ‘not nice to have’ category. Study the property sections in print, go online and talk to agents about your home type, area and market. You might be surprised what is considered as “normal”.

•Andrew Winter is the host of Selling Houses Australia on Lifestyle. .