Checklist: Where, how much, what's it got

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The mantra "location, location, location" still bears repeating by Washington-area Realtors. But other considerations are important to residential real estate buyers, too. "With prices as high as they are in our area, the very first thing everyone does is look for a location where they can find something they can afford," says Gwen Pangle, a Realtor with Long & Foster Real Estate in Leesburg, Va. "Affordability really comes even before location because a lot of people might want to live closer to the city or to own a lot of land in the country, but they have to be realistic about what they can spend. Location follows this and is determined in part by what the buyers can afford."

Joseph Himali, principal broker of Best Address Real Estate in the District, identifies location as the top concern for his clients.

"The time and length of someone's commute is of primary importance, so buyers are looking at a property's proximity to Metro," says Mr. Himali. "Within the city, parking is also very important. It's rare to find a condominium or even a home which includes a garage or parking space. Recently an outdoor parking space, not even in a garage, just the parking space, sold for $110,000 in the Dupont Circle neighborhood."

Alana Lasover, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Bethesda, says, "Buyers will start by looking at price and location. Right now, there's a lot of interest in being able to walk to everything, to live in Northwest D.C. or Chevy Chase or Bethesda, which offers a completely different lifestyle than living in a distant suburb."

In the Washington area, perhaps more than in some other regions, transportation is an important element for the choice of a home.

"Walking to Metro is a huge plus, but for people who can't afford to buy a close-in home, access to a bus or being able to drive easily to a Metro station is important," says Sharyn Goldman, a Realtor with Long & Foster in Bethesda.

For parents, buyers who intend to have children and consumers who recognize the impact of educational systems on real estate values, the school district surrounding a property influences the desirability of the home. But this impact is significantly higher in the suburbs compared with the city.

"In the District, the school district is slightly important to buyers of single-family homes and town homes, but it rarely matters at all to condominium buyers," says Mr. Himali. "It's really different from the suburbs, because most of the buyers don't have children, have grown children, or don't worry about this issue because they will be sending their kids to private schools."

Once the location and affordability factors are settled, buyers can begin to separate the "must-have" items in a home from the "would-like-to-have" items. These differ from consumer to consumer, from suburban to urban neighborhoods and from price-range to price-range, but some of the important home attributes are the same across the board.

"Today's buyers want a home that is in good condition, in move-in condition," says Ms. Goldman. "No one wants a fixer-upper these days because the homes are already so expensive to begin with. This is important in every price range. If someone can afford a home for $850,000, they want that home to be perfect. They might be willing to pay $700,000 for the same home if it's not in good shape, since that would allow them some extra money to pay for the work to be done. It's the same thing in the upper brackets. If someone can afford to buy a $2,500,000 home, it had better be perfect."