What happens to the value of our home when a neighbor or a property in our neighborhood does something weird that reduces the value of our home? Or when your home is next to a garbage dump or the neighbor’s yard is filled with trash or airplanes are constantly flying overhead and making a lot of noise?
Here’s a list of some of the “weird” things that can affect the value of your home.
- Hoarder Neighbors – Maybe a pack rat or hoarder lives down the block from your house. There is debris on the front yard, ripped container boxes are spilling out the front door of their house, equipment and toys are lying around everywhere. Your home, according to Trulia, could lose 5-10% of its value because potential buyers of your home may be concerned about health and safety, vermin, fire.
- Does your or a neighborhood house have a reputation of having ghosts? – According to Realtor.com’s Haunted Housing Report, 19% of potential buyers would need a 50% discount on your home. Only 12% said they’d pay full price.
- Any murders, suicides or other tragedies in your or a neighbor’s home? Prices usually drop between 10%-25% and or sit vacant for years.
- Address Names – Homes with addresses on roads, drives, avenues, lanes and boulevards tend to have higher price per square foot values than addresses on streets. Street addresses average $86./sq.’; road addresses average $109./sq.’.
- Zombie houses – Abandoned, boarded up and vacant houses lose a minimum of 3%-5% value according to Bankrate.com.
- Sink holes – According to the University of Southern Florida, homes on and/or near a skink hole, even when the damage has been repaired, lose a value of 9%.
- Megachurch – One might think it’d be nice to have a church in the neighborhood but it isn’t if it’s a megachurch. Potential buyers are noise and traffic reluctant when there’s an average weekly attendance of 2,000 or more. According to Realtor.com, values drop 5.2%.
- Sex offenders – Home values drop by 12% if/when a known sex offender moves in down the street.
- Billboards – A billboard within 500′ of the house causes values to drop by an average of %30,000. A billboard in the neighborhood causes a nearly $11,000.
- Hospital – Just like a church, some might think it would be nice to have a hospital near by. Not so. People are noise and siren reluctant and Realtor.com indicates that home values drop by 3.2%.
When evaluating your own home or a potential listing, keep your eyes peeled for the eye-sores you can see and prepare yourself or a seller for the surprise things that could deter buyers from the home or neighborhood. While you can’t control these things, you can begin to plan how to strategically market and sell against them.
