Noise Data Used In Valuation, Need Opinions Please

[Dstew619]

Do any of you or have you used any sort of noise data when appraising a property? If so what and how? How do you measure being in a flight path to negatively affect property valuation? What if a property is along a noisy busy street? Across the street from a school, etc? All kinds of surrounding noises out there that can affect home value, how do you determine as to what degree it affects? Do you use any sort of data to back up this value? Would it be worth it to you to pay for a service that does supply noise data if it were say $2 a property pull (not for a full property profile just a noise profile)? DO you just ignore the noise aspect all together and appraise as if it is on a normal street?

 

[George Hatch]

The identification of a variable is the easy part. It's the quantification of the *market's* reaction to that variable that's harder.

For that I normally start with the subject's own sales history and that of the surrounding properties that face the same external variable to see what the market reactions to it have been in previous transactions. I only expand that search to include other neighborhoods with comparable variables if I come up short in my subject neighborhood.

But quantifying whether the noise factor is 65db vs 85db? I really don't see how that adds to my analysis.

 

[gregb]

There are airport flight path maps published for most airports in California. Cities and counties have transportation studies with traffic counts for major roads available. Like GH says, the market reaction to adverse factors in a neighborhood are found in the market data.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

24 CFR Part 51 - Environmental Criteria and Standards

Subpart B - Noise Abatement and Control
51.100 Purpose and Authority
51.101 General policy
51.102 Responsibilities
51.103 Criteria and standards
51.104 Special requirements
51.105 Exceptions
51.106 Implementation

For more information visit: www.HUD.gov




http://www.hudnoise.com/hudstandard.html

FHA has noise requirements as part of their minimum property requirements (MPR).

 

[glenn walker]

It's really a socio- economic issue ** Wealthy people typically don't like noise, rednecks love noise*** Example there are properties located adjacent to railroad tracks and (no offense) but in some areas of Southern California these properties sell for as much or more than homes located on quite interior streets. Simply because there really are folk's that like to sit in their back yard drink beer , barbecue and watch trains go by. It's noisy and the ground rumbles but one guy I spoke with said he could not sleep unless a train came by at least once per hour. I used to live near a drag strip and loved the noise every Friday and Saturday night. I now live near a freeway and a train track and no problem at all . Let the comparable sales tell you the story , if there is a big difference you will see it in the data , the surprising part is sometimes the homes located closest to the noise sell for as much or more than quite streets.

Note: * THIS IS NOT FOUND IN MOST OF YOUR APPRAISAL BOOKS OR TAUGHT IN THE CLASSROOM ** IT'S CALLED EXTERNAL SOMETHING : ) LOL

 

[Restrain]

Are you behind the clubs on the Main Street as an example. I know of one area in Dallas that has this noise issue. Plenty of newspaper reports, police complaints as to the noise. So the presence is easily documented. But impact still has to be documented via sales data. Historical sales can be used but it all comes back to the market.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Freeway noise barriers may accomplish their goal of reducing the decibels but they are not pretty so noise or not, the property is often impacted. I can normally sample any sale within the neighborhood that has proximity to a noise source against homes that are further way. If you plot the price per SF, you can often see a decided difference between the sales with marketing time also being extended the closer you get.

Same thing with railroads. The closest to our railroads tend to be rentals and less well kept properties although the place I am thinking of is so small, there isn't enough data to really analyze effectively.

 

[Mark K]

Freeway noise barriers may accomplish their goal of reducing the decibels but they are not pretty so noise or not, the property is often impacted.

When they widened the local interstate the State installed a lot of noise barrier panels. Most of the affected property owners have said that they preferred the noise (were used to it) because now they have no view except for a 20' tall concrete panel, sometimes as close as 20-30' from the rear of the home.

Some have said they feel like they're in prison (many of them should know, considering the demographics of the neighborhood).

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

(many of them should know, considering the demographics of the neighborhood).

LIke these? I think they were in Ohio...maybe Ind.

 

[Dstew619]

What if there was data out there that said not only what the local noises are and how loud they are at any given property, but also how those noises affected housing pricing in that area? Is that something you could base as reasoning for your valuation?