The Meadows villas: what a corner plot or lake frontage is worth, measured from transactions

In a villa community, two houses of the same type can differ noticeably in price, and the reason is usually not the finish but the position of the plot. These premiums are persistent and, unlike much else, measurable.

What buyers pay for within a community

Direct water frontage. The largest and most persistent premium: there is a finite number of such plots, and no more can be added.
A corner plot. More land, one neighbour instead of two, often a wider frontage and more options for an extension.
What is behind the house. A park, a footpath or another house — three different situations for privacy and noise.
Distance to the entrance and to the main road. Closer is more convenient but noisier; further away is quieter but a longer drive out.
Orientation. Which way the garden and terrace face determines whether they get used: in this climate a west-facing terrace is unusable in summer.

How to measure the premium

Take transactions for a single house type from the open register and split them by position: waterfront, corner, standard.
Compare within close periods, so as not to mix different market conditions.
Look at time on market: houses in better positions sell faster, and that is a separate value not visible in the price.
Check against rents: the premium for position is usually smaller in the rent than in the price — meaning it sits in capital, not in income.

What this means when buying

If you are holding the house long-term and living in it, the premium for position is justified: you cannot change it later, whereas you can change the finish. If you are counting income, remember that rent pays less for it than purchase price does, and the yield on the best positions is lower.