Freeway Proximity

[Walter Kirk]

Kelly,
Since you have decided to buy the house be certain to obtain a copy of the appraisal report before you close. Since you are concerned about the value of the house in relation to noise you must be sure that the comparable properties have the same noise conditions as your subject property. If you arn't satisfied with the appraisal or feel that the comparables don't have the same noise problem hire an appraiser to study the effect of noise pollution on your neighborhood, for a few hundred dollars you may save yourself tens of thousands of dollars in loss at resale.

 

[KD247]

Freeway noise has a significant negative impact on value, but in a strong market buyers tend to ignore problems and pay top dollar for any available home.

If the market continues to remains strong, your value will increase at a rate similar to other properties in the area. But when the market weakens, the decrease in the value of your home will be equal to the overal rate of decrease in the market -plus- the negative impact of the freeway noise (which is no longer being ignored).

The net result is that your upside potential is similar to that of other buyers in the area, but you are taking on far greater downside risk. Great honeymoon, questionable marriage.

 

[Farm Gal]

Koert:

That blanket statement about freeway noise ALWAYS causing dimunition in value is exactly the sort that gets folks in trouble. Where's the BEEF.

May be true in your market... it may (to even your great surprise) NOT be.

Folks have done pretty careful studies on this matter due to easement takings and all I can say is 'it depends'... I will grant you that lacking the resources to develop such studies an individual residential appraiser might want to use anecdotal evidence (interviews with sellers, buyers and agents) or very limited studies... You could try matched pairs <_< , but even then you can get into trouble with assumptions...

Someone told me (or I read) about a Harry Harrison story, where he said he thought he had a perfect set of matched pairs for a single vs. double garage and then he made the mistake of verifying - and found to his dismay that the buyer of house #2 in the pair was a sister of house #1 and bought at the higher price because of the adjoining back yards (they both had kids) NOT the garage. And the seller KNEW about the relationship and stuck to their guns on price...

Depends entirely on the larger market, specific locational conditions, and yup the subMARKET of folks willing to consider properties in proximity to the freeway!... Some places buyers and seller ASSume that it makes a difference and price/sell/buy accordingly, some places folks LIKE having a big brick wall, or a wide buffer strip of rocks trees grass with no neighbor to the rear.

It depends.

It depends.

Did I mention: it depends?

 

[KD247]

Hi Lee Ann,

Thanks for writing. Good to hear from you, and I enjoy a friendly debate!

You inferred that my statement was absolute. I didn't say, "always"; you did. I will stand by my statement that freeway proximity (generally) has a negative effect on value, even though it can be mitigated (by block walls), offer offsetting benefits (like no rear neighbor), or be similar to other negative external influences (I'd rather live near a freeway than a waste processing plant). As I stated, the negative effect can also be mostly diminished by a lack of alternative properties, but the freeway influence will come back to haunt the owners when there is a healthy supply of available properties.

Matched pairs are great for supporting an opinion, but they don't incorporate reliable statistical methods (they can't, because of the large number of unidentifiable variables and a lack of occurences). When matched-pairs conclusions are used to extrapolate values, they can easily lead to unreasonable results. (Thank goodness that AVM's can't apply a thorough test of reasonableness - we'd be out of business!)

The current "irrational exuberance" we're seeing in some areas has lead to 10-20% value increases in the last few months, an almost complete absence of available properties, and investors willing to aquire almost any property at any price. Even though this has lasted for over five years, it feels like late 1989 (when the California real estate market suddenly collapsed). Many buyers are tempted to jump into the market at any cost, but they should be aware that they may have to live with their compromises for ten or fifteen years before they can get out.

Depends?

 

[Farm Gal]

:rainfro:

Koert:

I must be needing those Depends for reasons of early onset senility as well as due to the current economic conditions...

I coulda sworn that you did say the A word... and jumped all over it... and find to my chagrin on a second read that not only did YOU not but I surely did.

The muching sound you hear over the rustle of my new undies is me chewing on my hat....

(It tastes awful by the way)

Mea Culpa all over the place :redface:

 

[Charles Mikols]

I lived off of I-85 at Lake Hartwell near the Georgia state line a few years back. We were two miles from the highway in our rental and only one quarter mile away when we built. The noise level was horrific at certain times of day and year depending on climatic conditions. When the air is cool and humidity is low the noise increases. During the spring and summer it was almost silent. I checked the lot at various times of day and seasons and placed the master bdrm away from the prevailing direction and also had a protrusion in the rear of the house that blocked the night time noise. It was tolerable as the noisiest time was autumn and winter evenings. A nice house we liked and the lake view made up for it.

 

[KD247]

Charles,

It's incredible what the combination of elevation and wind do to freeway noise, but I've never realized that temperature or humidity are also factors. Now that you mention it, there does seem to be a strong relationship, particularly with humidity.

We also live about 1/4 mile away from the freeway. The prevailing breeze, even when the air feels dead still, manages to push the freeway noise away. At night, it's as quiet as can be.

But, just a few times a year, when the very dry wind blows from the east, the freeway sounds like it's going through our living room. I'd hate to have that much noise all the time, but I'd probably insulate before I'd move.

Koert

 

[Farm Gal]

Noise conditions vary...

Soo... Once again I drag out my stock answer... " it depends "

The interrelated relationships between noise and temperature, humidity, wind direction and don't forget atmosperic ceilings ... varys.

I live nearly six miles away from a local dirt oval track where various racing events are held near year round. It is due west from my house, and about a mile and a half or so beyond the N/S running interstate. rolling hills in between with minimal treecover and a few scattered houses and barns.

There are times when it is stone quiet, and then at times the rumble of the highway is a little louder than the high flying jets over head...

And then sometimes when conditions are right, you would swear the monster trucks are on the next block over! :blink:

 

[KD247]

Proof for my $2,800 Location Adjustment for freeway proximity

 

[Trebor]

According to a Question on my FHA exam, proximity to a freeway has no influence on value, but it sure would to me!