High voltage power line proximity

[Shawangunk RE]

I have a subject property which abuts a high voltage power line easement. There is a tree buffer, but the lines are visible. I have searched back two years for sales abutting similar power lines with no results. I used google earth to track these particular lines, pulled up any home in tax records in similar proximity to the lines and came up empty, no recent sales. So, a matched pair analysis is not possible. Now what? Clearly there would be an impact on marketability, but if I cannot prove an adjustment, how should I handle this?

 

[TerryRohrer]

With no basis (e.g., data) how can you possibly conclude "Clearly there would be an impact on marketability"? With data, I have never been able to establish that. But start by sharing with us your definition of marketability and how it is measured.

 

[Shawangunk RE]

With no basis (e.g., data) how can you possibly conclude "Clearly there would be an impact on marketability"? With data, I have never been able to establish that. But start by sharing with us your definition of marketability and how it is measured.

My thinking is there has been talk about these power lines causing health issues, whether proven true or not. Were a prospective purchaser to do a simple google search, all kinds of info comes up, many mentioning cancer. Would this not produce a certain stigma?

 

[Fernando]

From start of my appraising career, I never liked power towers near homes. I believe there are radiation or toxic electrical wave, something like that.
So I bought an electromagnetic counter which I found to go crazy when I'm very close to my TV, microwave, etc.
Oddly, I never used the counter on subject. Maybe I'm afraid it would go off. Ignorance is bliss as Dublin would know.
Utility companies have said they are not dangerous and no conclusive studies (of course for liability purposes).

Thus, when I write my appraisals, I state how close the electrical element is near subject but would not mention its electrical toxicity.
I would adjust inferior either for subject or comps depending on close proximity to electrical towers. Electrical lines less so.
I would comment because of the inferior view from seeing a towering structure.

One time at an open house, agent asked me if it's bad for his listing near tower.
I said it's difficult to determine and have to look at similar comps (blah, blah, blah) but personally, I wouldn't buy it (less demand). It wasn't the answer agent wanted to hear.
Anyway, the house did sell quickly but that is because it also had a panoramic Bay view.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Clearly there would be an impact on marketability,

Based on what? I've never found a quantifiable difference even large lines - not in land values, not in property values.

 

[Shawangunk RE]

Based on what? I've never found a quantifiable difference even large lines - not in land values, not in property values.

My thought is the stigma attached due to "reports" that the electromagnetic fields lead to higher rates of cancer. Just doing a quick google search results in a whole lot of potentially scary info, though not one single proven fact. I am considering the average potential purchaser of this 4 bedroom 2.5 bath home on 1.5 acres in a good school district. If I had young children I would certainly investigate the possibility of harm. My subject is the yellow house to the left.

 

[TerryRohrer]

If you look hard enough (or barely) you can find conspiracy theories about anything and everything. The job of an appraiser is to cut through the crap and deal with the truth. Theories are not facts, so you can dismiss all of those. As indicated above, I have appraised dwellings with high voltage power lines adjacent to and/or crossing part of the site, along with small agricultural tracts, and have never found a measurable impact on value. You didn't answer what "marketability" means or how to measure it. The only way out is to state you can't find data that supports a conclusion of no impact, or some impact, or to keep digging for data.

"A 1979 study first raised concerns about a link between living near high-voltage power lines and the risk of childhood leukemia. Since then, most studies have not found an association."

Is Living Near Power Lines Linked to Cancer Risk?

Living near power lines may increase your exposure to electromagnetic fields, leading to concern about whether it increases cancer risk. Learn more.

www.cancercenter.com

 

[Fernando]

I forgot many homes in US not like here.
Homes here are more dense thus many homes would have electrical lines nearby and thus market doesn't consider it adversely.
If near electrical tower which is less common, some like me find it detrimental but others don't mind.....the view.

 

[WestMichiganCG]

Based on what? I've never found a quantifiable difference even large lines - not in land values, not in property values.

Nobody cares about the lines, from a fiscal standpoint, once the house is in. People care when the line is not there and then its added. If the lines are already there and it negatively affects a building envelope it will affect the land value. I have done dual paired analysis for litigation supporting my comment.

 

[The Bob]

I had one a few years ago in a very suburban area. I found a nearby sub that was bordered with a similar PL easement with lots of recent sales and I was able to extract a very supportable adjustment, both for view of just the PL (2%) and for view/proximity of a tower (4%).

My subject had 3 price reductions from $495k to $425K with 155 DOM (vs ~30 or less) and a SP of $410k. This was in a very active, rising market so that right there tells you something.
I've also made it a habit to ask people on re-fi's how they viewed the PL's. For most people it didn't really bother them. No neighbors backing up to you, etc... One guy built a putting green in the easement, a few others had gardens. The key was if they had a tower directly in view. That def affected it.