There are so many different things that can affect the value of a property placed on the market today. In fact, the number of factors, broadly divided into those which count as adjustments made by the home owner and those which are pretty intrinsic to the property itself, is vast. When it comes to property values everything matters, and precisely how it matters is changing all the time. 

CityHome Collective, a real estate brokerage out of Salt Lake City, Utah, say that it is precisely this ever-changing nature of home value that makes the services of a professional realtor so essential. For sellers, this is the only way to keep track of everything that effects a home’s value – from the state of the local park to the paint beginning to chip on an upstairs window ledge. Accordingly, it can really appear to many home sellers that the figure arrived at by a realtor is a work of pure magic – but it is an expertly calculated number. 

The Architecture of American Homes 

It might help home sellers’ peace of mind a little to consider only the factors which can be estimated, even by amateurs, with some degree of accuracy. The good thing about such factors is that they collectively make up the property trends which truly define a market in a specific place. One example of these factors is architectural style.

The precise structure of a home can vary in countless ways, but it will always have a distinct architectural style. The market’s relationship to these architectural styles can fluctuate a great deal, but they nevertheless make up a pretty stable category.

When we talk about architectural style, we are essential referring to the history of American home building. The architectural style is usually all that’s needed to accurately date a home, although bear in mind that modern recreations of popular architectural styles is a common phenomenon in any given property market. 

Top Property Architecture Styles 

But what are these styles? Here follows the architecture that made American neighborhoods:

Colonial

Excepting perhaps the teepee, the colonial home is the oldest American architectural style. Accordingly, they have a great deal of cultural cachet and are sure to be valuable homes. Common on the east coast where they were originally built, colonial home recreations are common across the country.

French Colonial 

This type of property is native to the Southern states and is particularly associated with Louisiana and New Orleans. Elsewhere in the country, full recreations are rare, but many architectural elements are taken from this kind of home and incorporated into modern eclectic styles. 

Contemporary 

Jumping forward a couple of centuries, we come across what is known as “contemporary style”. Found all over the country, the key feature of these homes is that they can vary in style a lot. However, wide windows, a light color, an asymmetrical structure, and more geometric shapes are common features. They can sometimes appear unfashionable, but they can also be remarkably chic. 

Neoclassical

Normally associated with the great buildings of Washington D.C., the neoclassical style has also made its influence felt on residential homes. Within this area, a neoclassical home is any that makes use of classical architectural elements such as columns, capitals, porticos and so on. They are usually great value attractors. 

The four styles here illustrate well the wide variety of American homes, but many individual elements of each style are traded and incorporated into other more modern residencies. An essential part of understanding the modern American property market is to understand America’s rich architectural past.

Jeffrey Jones