Fences And Property Values

[Kevin Popovic]

Our commnuity if looking for information on how fences can negatively impact the property value of our homes. We are a community of 37 homes with an average buying price of $225K located in the Western suburbs of Pittsburgh. Can anyone provide statistics or links to resources that can help us learn more?

 

[Carnivore]

Kevin,

Each market is different, hire an appraiser from your immediate market area to d othe market study. Make sure you tell the appraiser exactly what your trying to find out, what your reason is in finding out and what you intend to do with the information.

For example I recently appraised a house and the guy calls me later. He wants me to prove that his over sized play ground house does not negatively effect values. I ask him why! After much teeth pulling I finally got it out of him that the HOA was in process of filing suit againts the individual for ignoring covenants. I quoted a huge fee and explained that it would be cheaper to comply. He finally agreed and complied with the HOA.

So, are you the offendie or the offender?

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

I usually make no adjustment for fences since nearly all residential properties have the back yard fenced. Each market is different, so check with a local appraiser.

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

And I thought good fences made good neighbors.

Your question seems to assume fences are a negative effect on value. I suppose it could go either way. A detailed market study might be able to reach a conclusion. Could be real expensive. I doubt 37 homes is a large enough sample to work with.

I've never adjusted for fences, since nearly everyone has them here, some outlying areas they're not typical though. Either way, it's generally a small cost to build compared to the property value.

Back to the issue, what is the purpose of your info quest?
Just a wild shot in the dark, if you wish to ban fences in your community, perhaps there could be a vote of the HOA. Or other "governing body". If 19 of you don't like fences... :jumping:

 

[vargasteve]

I agree, your question assumes that fences are detrimental which is an opinion based on I'm not sure what fact's - sounds like an opinion.

As long as there is conformity across the board it should not change the value of the homes. I'm from NJ with mostly no fences (now I live in California with mostly all fences), so I know that it will change the character of the neighborhood, but the value? not sure.

? If you found the perfect property for you meeting all your criteria & it had a fence would it change your offer, or keep you from buying it?, and does the majority of the market feel the same as you on this particular issue.

To determine the answers to those questions would be the job of any appraiser, and translating that into a clear data pool to make adjustments would certainly be difficult & perhaps subjective to some extent. (that means it would be expensive - and might still have holes in it), if not dam near impossible to extract that type of data.

If I were you, I'd look for existing article's or fencing impact statements from similar communities on a web search.

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

In most of my market aread a fenced yard is a positive up to about $1,000, usually around $500, some with no discernable adjustment in either direction. I've never had any analysis show a negative adjustment, but the research to define something like a fence within a specific subdivision would be a very long and time consuming project; as in, I would charge a lot of money IF I were to ever consider taking on such a project. I seriously doubt the bottom line finding would be negative, would more likely show $0 to $1,000 in the typical subdivisons/projects and could even show higher in some of the higher priced projects.

Most people like the additional privacy and security a fenced yard provides.

 

[Restrain]

Realizing that markets vary, around here, for the TYPICAL house, if there is not a fence, there's an allowance for the construction of a fence in the contract. The Lack of a fence is a negative. However, there are certain subdivisions where there are no fences due to land use controls, otheres that are wrought-iron so as to not interfere with views.

You need an opinion for your market from an appraiser in your market.

Good luck.

Roger Strahan, IFA

 

[BenLuby]

It varies from area to area, as is being expressed by the wise minds here. Another factor is, what kind of fence are we talking about?
A field fence has no real impact, chain link in our market adds a bit of value, then you have the privacy fences that are wooden and vary in height, as well as wrought iron, and the now growing in popularity vinyl fences.
Each one is a different item to consider, and costs vary for each one. They do have an impact on value in my market area, but it also depends on the type of fence.