Increase Property Values

To return to main screen click the "No Train Horn" sign.

Please note that the answers to these questions and more are in the proposal PDF that is available on the main screen.

Q: Would a Quiet Zone have the potential to increase property values?

A: Yes. It is common sense that more people would want to live away from loud noises. In real estate terms, the number of potential buyers (demand) increases when there are certain desired aspects of a property. When demand increases, so does the value.

Q: Would a professional real estate appraiser really take this into consideration or is this just a personal preference of some individual buyers?

A: Yes; an appraiser would. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines for property appraisal/valuation specifically require noise to be taken into consideration for underwriting of certain mortgage loans. Anecdotally, in the spring of 2013, the owner of a property located over a quarter mile (over 1,200 feet) from the nearest railroad crossing in the City of Plymouth received an appraisal from a professional real estate appraiser, which cited "proximity to train" as a "decreaser" of value.

Q: How much might a Quiet Zone potentially increase property values?

A: Economists have specifically studied Quiet Zones and found them to increase property values 4.1 percent for every 10 decibels over normal background noise levels of 50 decibels. Note that 49 CFR 229.129 requires trains operating at non-Quiet Zone crossings to sound their horns at a minimum of 96 decibels and a maximum of 110 decibels. 110 is 60 greater than 50. So 6 multiplied by 4.1 percent would mean a twenty five percent increase in property values. The closer to the crossings, the higher the decibels. Even lower estimates would seem to provide an economic rate of return.

Additional details are in the "draft proposal" and "underlying details" (with address-level detail) on the main screen of this site.

Those increases in property values would seem to fully, or at least partially, offset for any costs for improvements needed to obtain a Quiet Zone.

Consider the documents below. Note the many peer-reviewed journal articles referenced in the economics journal articles.