What Price per Square Foot Hides
Price per square foot looks like a fair way to compare. It is one number, easy to divide, easy to rank. It also hides most of the things you actually live with.
Four things the number ignores
- What is counted as area. Different documents use different definitions. Is the balcony included? Is it the area inside the walls or including shared parts?
- How usable the layout is. Two flats of the same size can feel very different. A long corridor wastes space. A good plan does not.
- Floor, view and noise. They change the price for a reason, and they change how easy the unit is to rent or sell.
- What is included. Parking, storage and furnishing can move the real price a lot.
Compare total cost for the same use
Example with made-up numbers. Unit A: 700 sq ft at 1,500 per sq ft, so 1,050,000. Unit B: 650 sq ft at 1,550 per sq ft, so 1,007,500. On paper B costs more per sq ft. But if B has a better layout and includes parking that A charges extra for, B may be the cheaper way to get the same life.
Before you compare
- Ask which area definition each price uses.
- Draw the furniture into the plan. Does your life fit?
- Compare the all-in price, including parking and fees.
