How much does noise affect real estate prices?
Ever wonder how much better a house would be if it wasn't near a highway or main street? One web site linked a study measuring how loud noise affects real estate values.
They looked at how an increase or decrease in average 24 hour day night sound levels, Ldn, affects the values of a home. We took that work and ran with it - below is a noise versus home value calculator for you to run the scenario.
Noise vs. Real Estate Price Calculator
How Much Does Noise Affect Real Estate Prices?
Sound levels are measured in decibels - a 3 decibel decrease means a cut in power of about half.
If an Airport moves next door, for example, jet engines are going to be north of 110 decibels. Busy roadways, on the other hand, will have levels above 80 decibels.
It is well within the range of possibilities your house might (over the years) go from 45 or 55 Ldn to 80 Ldn or so. Now, with this calculator, you can know how much that affects your home price (about .4% of value per 1 Ldn increase).
(The study used 55 Ldn as the median sound level at a house, about the level of a moderately busy suburban street. I did the math as a power, so Value * .996^dB. Just know that it would be worse if it was Value * (1-.004*dB). Take it with a grain of salt, but here you go!)
Living Near Loud Noises
Living next to noise producing might mean more than just a monetary hit. It's possible that higher sound levels cause cardiovascular risk, as well.
Of course, studies of this sort have lots of confounding variables. They might just be measuring the type of people who move next to the street rather than the street's effects,
Regardless, you now have half the story – the amount sound levels affect a home's value.
The old maxim holds true: "Location, Location, Location,". You can change your house but you can't move your land – noise affects real estate prices, and possibly a lot more.
