We've lived in several cold areas (Michigan, Colorado, northern Ohio) and all had basements. Personally I prefer a home with a basement and your realtor is correct that if most of the homes in the area have a basement then it will be harder to resell in the future if yours doesn't have one.

I lived in Mass for 38 years and have never heard of a house with a crawlspace except for seasonal cottages. Everything was either a basement (some with dirt floors, but still a basement) or a slab. Unless they were really creative with the way they did the plumbing, I don't know how a crawspace would work in Mass. Is it currently being used as a four season house?

You can often lift a house up and add a foundation and basement. It is frequently done when someone has an old foundation or when they are converting a seasonal house to four season home. If you really love the house and it is priced right, you could persue that option.

I think having a crawlspace would be a real disadvantage at resale time.

Where I live (zone 6b) crawl spaces are common. It's nice to have access to the pipes, easier to do some repairs and was nice when I had central air installed in the 1st house as they ran everything in the crawl space.

The house I'm in now also has one but doesn't have outside access and has an area where we can stand where our water heater & softener are.

As to what she's saying about insulation and the cold, I'm not sure that she's right. Our crawl space is warmer than our attic in the winter, and doesn't get very cold. I don't remember going down there and thinking it was cold or freezing like when I go to the attic. We store paint down there at times and I've put my more tender outside plants down there for the winter.

Not everyone wants or needs a basement. An older couple may not want one, nor would some people starting out. My husband's owned this house for over 25 years, I've been here 7, so we've lived without one. The next house will hopefully have one (need to put my teen down there :) or at least a garage. Does the house have a laundry room? I'd be more concerned about having to go out to a garage to do laundry & if that's the case, might pass on it. The laundry room would be a plus for resale.

sue36 - Unless they were really creative with the way they did the plumbing, I don't know how a crawspace would work in Mass.

With our plumbing, it is secured to the beams under the floor, like you'd see in a basement. We also wired our internet, TV & phone in the crawl, it worked out really well as it's easier to run the wires up instead of having to fish down a wall in an attic. I have no clue how they do plumbing & stuff on a slab but I'm thankful there isn't one here especially if I was remodeling a bathroom and needed to change where my tub was.

I don't see laundry room as a plus for resale. I see it as a necessary feature of the home. I wouldn't touch a home that didn't have one, especially if there's no basement.

A crawlspace would limit potential buyers unless they came from an area where basements are not typical, like here in AZ.

I wouldn't even bother looking at the hope the OP is considering, especially for the problems with resale down the road when a basement is more than common in the area.

I'm running into this same issue. I'm from Michigan and never lived without a basement. Granted some old houses had some fairly gnarly stone walled, dirt floor basements but most seemed to have one.
Here in Nebraska basement are pretty common but in the "country" they are far less so because building in the country is more expensive - people put their basement money in land, then build on a crawl space or slab (my price range may be part of this problem:).
Now I'm moving to Dayton and running into the issue AGAIN only even worse. Very few rural(ish) property's in my price range have basements. As a matter of fact - crawl spaces are far more prevalent near Dayton than in Nebraska , Even in the older homes (although turn of the century homes do seem to have basements, again stone and dirt)
This has and is a huge issue for me that I have been struggling with. I have just now caved, and told my realtor that i will consider a crawl space though i hate the idea. My alternative is to live in the suburbs.

Both Nebraska and Ohio get some cold weather. And there are trailer parks everywhere incuding South Dakota and Minnesota which are colder than Mass. So obviously crawl spaces can be done in cold areas. I think if the house was built with a crawl space the cold issue somehow was dealt with, unless possible it has been as someone said, only a summer home.
That does not change the fact that a crawl space is less attractive as a property.
I would think that the price of the house is somehow reflecting that. It may sell slower but if you buy it at the right price you should be able to sell it later.

I don't see laundry room as a plus for resale. I see it as a necessary feature of the home. I wouldn't touch a home that didn't have one, especially if there's no basement.

Where I'm from, if you have a crawl space and a garage, the laundry is usually in the garage. If you don't have the garage, I've seen homes that don't have a laundry room, where there is a small space for the washer dryer combo. Guess it depends on where you live and what you're used to. I'm not originally from here and hated going to the garage to do wash

I'll be remodeling and plan on putting the washer and dryer on the floor where the bedrooms are. Makes more sense than trudging down to a basement if you can do it.
I am surprised by the number of new homes that do not locate the laundry area nearer the bedrooms.
Where I live slabs and crawl spaces are what we build on. In fact, only very old houses have crawl spaces. Yep, it can make moving plumbing might expensive as they have to dig into the slab.

My parents live outside NYC in a 1960s split near water. The house is partially on a slab and partially with a concrete crawl space. They have stored luggage and skiis there for years and never had a problem. My MIL lives on the same block does not have a problem either. I should clarify that the bottom level is sort of like a basement, it is at ground level or very slightly below but i never thought of it as a basement. Part of it is finished, the part that goes under the main entry is the crawl space. There is a full utility room with washer and heaters etc next to the finished part

When we bought our house as a young couple I could care less about basements. Many kids later I would not consider a house without one unless there was both a storage attic and a large playroom elsewhere in the house

As said before if a basement is the norm for the area then not having one will make it difficult come resale time. I for one would not buy a house without one. Furnaces, oil tanks, water heaters, etc. have all been in the basement for easy access for workmen if there is a need. Plumbing is also made easy to get to. Plus there is all that storage space. My dahlias go down into the basement for winter storage. Our home canned fruits and veggies are there, plus my husbands workshop. All our basements have had doors to the outside. Yep, full basements and full attics, now that's my idea of living! lol NancyLouise

I have lived in homes with both basements ("cellars" in New England) and crawl spaces. I will NEVER own another crawl space!
My home is in New England and we have a higher water table in our town so we have a sump pump in a preplaced hole in the cellar. We're in the middle of a Nor'easter right now and my cellar is completely dry.
Some crawl spaces can become damp if not ventilated properly and the dampness can lead to structural problems. There's a company in the Poconos of PA called "Crawl Space Repair" and with all the crawl spaces there, he's always busy.
My vote is always gonna be a cellar.

I think this is a regional thing. People in New England expect to have a basement. I am willing to compromise on certain things in a house. Not having a basement doesn't happen to be one of them. It is going to be an issue for resale as you have reduced your pool of potential buyers.

I have owned both and currently have a 4.5 foot crawlspace.

In my old house, the finished full sized basement was waterproofed (french drain) and great for storage but over time, everything would get moldy. There was a need for a dehumidifier running 24/7 during the warmer months. The cold basement floor would cause condensation on the unfinished cement area during humid days. Metal washers and dryers would end up rusting and paint flaked off over time. Clothes could not be stored or else you would get that dirt smell. Metal storage cabinets would rust. Wooden doors would get a coating of mold over a period of years. Then there was the stair climbing which became a pain when it was laundry day. The sofa always felt damp and had a smell.
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In my current home, my 4.5 ft crawl space stays plenty warm. I have two 220V industrial space heaters which come on at 37 degrees (freezing pipes) and the floor above is insulated. I never have a cold floor. My entire house is electric. PPL has reasonable KW hour rates in my area. I will install an induction motor fan this Spring on the crawlspace wall to circulate the air. In my area, there is plenty of rock which is why some homes were built with crawlspaces.

For homeowners with a slab or crawlspace, a good tip is to buy a high-end washer and dryer as they make far less noise than a cheapy. You don't think of these things when the appliances are isolated in a basement. A second tip for homeowners with a crawlspace or slab is to place your hotwater heater in a pan. In case of a leak, you will avoid a lot of interior damage.

When you get older, you really appreciate a one level home.

A full basement is expected in some parts of the country.

Any allergist will tell you that the worst place to live (especially to sleep) is on the first floor over a slab. Next worst is first floor of a house w/crawlspace. Best is on second floor of a house with a full basement. (I compromised -- first floor BR above a full basement. Am so much better than when we lived with only a crawl.)

The reason houses are built without basements is to save money and sometimes because the water table is so high in an area that you CAN'T have a basement without running a sump pump constantly. "No Basement" is never a "plus" in real estate.

My Uncle had a house with just a crawlspace... after a couple years he had the house lifted and had a proper basement dugout and poured.. so now he has a basement. But as far as I know he never had any issues with heat loss..