Hi,I'm originally from Germany and came to study here about a year ago and recently rented my first own flat(share)I found it weird that landlords and letting agents do not usually advertise the size of the property?I can only compare it to my home country, where ads ALWAYS state the habitable size of the property, and usually the websites then even calculate the price per square meter.On Rightmove, e.g., the ads alway only state quot;large 3 bedroom flat with spacious living roomquot;How large is large? What is spacious?Also, when I looked up the rent index for my area there was only information about the average house and flat prices, but no relative prices such as ?/m?.I understand that things are done differently in other countries, but this seems very irrational to me.So, could somebody please explain to me why this is? Why, apparently, people also don't bother to know about the exact size and relative price?Thanks!
This used to drive me nuts because I thought knowing the area would be helpful for comparing apartments / homes, but there are a number of good reasons why square footage is often not shown- There is no standard defining how to calculate it (does a balcony count?, the area occupied by a wall?, an elevator shaft?, etc) - Floor area can also be extremely difficult to measureMost rooms are not simple rectanglesThey can have rounded walls, alcoves, walls that jut out, closets, stairways, etc- For a seller / landlord, there is not a lot of upside in showing the square footageSince there is no standard definition for how to calculate it, if they err on the high side, there is risk of a lawsuitIf they err on the low side, they only succeed in making the apartment look small- It does not really tell you all that much anywayWhat people really care about is not the amount of space, it is the ways in which they are able to use itSome homes have large areas that are not basically usable (e.gan extra-wide entry way) whereas others use the space very efficiently (e.gHong Kong efficiency apartments)People also have different preferencesSome want lots of open area for their kids to play, others want walk-in closetsPersonally, I don't think square footage is not worth focusing onEven if it did matter, it is not accurate enough to tell you very much.
