Rural town question

[c w d]

Can a property be considered suburban to a small rural town. The town has most community amenities minus mass transit, immediate access to interstates, large scale shopping and hospitals. The subdivision is within a 5 minute drive to the center of town. The roads in the subdivision are typically unpaved natural surfaces platted in typical suburban fashion. Site sizes are typically .25 acres.

I've had this discussion with others in my office. The subject is convenient to the center of town and it's amenities. But the town is considered to be rural as it is 20 minutes from a city to its north with all of the amenities one would expect.

So, can a property be suburban in a rural town? Or am I missing the point. Can there be a suburban environment when there is no urban environment. Are the centers of small towns considered urban?

 

[Wendy]

.25 AC sites would not suggest rural to me.

 

[Mztk1]

Sure. Dade City is one of those towns that built up over the surrounding rural uses, as is Plant City. These may be "Mulberry" type locations (and strangely enough "Mulberry, FL" is another one of these rural based towns) but if you have a development that feeds off them that development can be considered suburban.

 

[Ray Miller]

For property like that I use the term "Rural Subdivision". Then tell the story about it: location, distance and soforth.

 

[Mike Boyd]

It would seem suburban, to me. 5 minutes to a "rural" town? Who is calling it a "rural town?" If that town is only 20 minutes to a major metropolitan area I would call it suburban. It may have some rural characteristics such as farm supply stores. So, that makes the subject 25 minutes from a major metro city.

Suburban, in my part of the world.

 

[RSW]

I had an appraiser tell me once that is you can drive to a Wal-Mart in less than 20 minutes, it is suburban. I had another tell me if you see the smoke from the chemney of another house, it is suburban. I don't think either of these definitions meet the Fannie Mae definition of suburban. How close are the comps that you are using. I'd call it rural if they are more than 1 mile.

 

[Joker]

Compared to my area, that is URBAN!

Seriously, I would consider it suburban, as the town is apparently a suburb of the larger city.

 

[Pa'akai]

I was always told that if the property is located within 5 miles of a city or town that had most needed services (schools, shopping, banks, etc.) it can be considered suburban.

But there are so many different opinions on this and has been hashed out in the forum before with no real consensus if I remember correctly.

To an underwriter everything is suburban no matter where its located.

 

[Mike Boyd]

Does Fannie or Freddie have a definition of rural, RSW?
If a community has a hospital, schools, shopping and employment, police and fire protection and is within commuting distance (less than an hour) from a major metro area, I consider it to be suburban. Small town populations may mean comps are more than a mile away. If that/those comps are in the same competing market area, I do not consider distance relevant.

This issue has been with us for at least 25 years. Maybe it's one of those appraisal mysteries that will never be solved. LOL

 

[Michigan CG]

Compared to my area, that is URBAN!

An intersection of two county roads with a bar, gas station and a church is urban to you.