Airplanes buzzing overhead, trains roaring by, or that bustling 24-hour supermarket can all take a toll on your property value. But, by how much?
Realtor.com®’s data team analyzed nine major noise factors and then calculated the price difference between homes within a certain radius of the source. It then factored in the median price of homes in that ZIP code to gauge which noises are making buyers the most jittery. (Note: Noisy neighbors couldn’t be quantified in the study, but they can obviously have a big impact too.)
The study sounded the alarm on airports as the worst offender. Sellers within a 2-mile radius of an airport likely will see a 13.2 percent hit to their sales price, the study says. Railway tracks are close behind, with a 12.3 percent decrease to a home’s sales price.
Indeed, noise-cancelation headphones may make the perfect closing gift if your buyers opt to live next to one of these places.
Here’s how certain noise disturbances are chipping away at property values:
- Airport (within 2 miles): 13.2% (average discount)
- Railway track (within 0.1 mile): 12.3%
- Highway (within 0.1 mile): 11.3%
- Busy road (within 0.1 mile): 9.5%
- Hospital emergency room (within 0.5 mile): 7.6%
- Busy church (with weekly attendance of 2,000 or more and within 0.5 mile): 5.2%
- 24-hour supermarket (within 0.1 mile): 5.1%
Source: “Decibel Hell: The Ear-Splitting Things That Will Disturb Your Home’s Value,” realtor.com® (Jan. 19, 2017)
