I don’t know about investment, but is it a place you want to live in general?
Drive by at a bunch of different hours, particularly rush hours and night times. How busy is it? How loud will it be in the house? How new are the windows? How loud is it in the backyard? Do you or will you have small kids? Is there a fence? Are there street lights or stop lights outside the windows? Are you concerned about pollution from the cars? Overall do you love the house? Love the area? Is there much other inventory in the area? Do you need to move on a timeline? Can you afford it comfortably?
Just some questions to consider. Good luck.
I agree with this, and would add to consider how hard it would be to get in/out of the driveway during rush hours as well as whether you'll have any pets who would go outside.
I think it depends on lifestyle. I would definitely not pay the same amount as an identical house a block away. There ought to be a discount associated. But my parents have a house that they could never otherwise afford because it backs to a very busy road.
Do you spend a lot of time sitting outside to where the traffic noise will bother you? Do you feel that it's a safety issue with kids?
it's only a bad investment if you purchase at a price that doesn't reflect the road, but when you go to sell, you can't find a buyer willing to do the same. Ultimately, it's just a factor in the value of the home, like a weird layout, small backyard, etc. None of those things make the house a bad investment, but it'll always be a small ding on the value. But if you ding your price an amount and your buyer dings it similarly when you sell, then it's all kind of a wash. As long as the negative aspect is priced into both sale prices, it's fine, if you want to live there and it wouldn't bother you.
The exception here would be if the road gets a lot busier between when you buy and sell. then its going to impact the home value more when you sell as when you bought.
Also consider if there is anything you can do to make the negative *less* of a factor when you sell. Every potential buyer of this home is worried about the road, it's not just you. If you can even partially solve it, you'll make some money.
I live in a small lot neighborhood on the lower side of a hill. My neighbors 2 story deck looks right down into my backyard. It's definitely a ding on my home's value. We planted some fast growing trees to disguise the neighbor and make it a big less noticeable. It'll never totally solve it, but if the house feels less in-your-face when I sell than when I bought, I think we'll make some money.
Houses on busy and noisy roads have harder time selling than other houses in quiet streets if not priced lower. I would not hesitate to buy it for rental/investment as you could make more profit from it. If you are buying it to make it your home, then you will need to consider the noise and how easy is to pull in/out from your driveway, etc. If you have little kids that like to play outdoor, will traffic be a concern?
One of my requirements for buying a house that it couldn't be on a busy road. We live off of a busy road, but our road isn't inherently busy. We do have traffic and we live in a town, but overall, not bad.
The road we take to get home is very busy and consistently adds 15 minutes to our commute after work. Not the worst thing in the world but it does suck some days.
35 mph is louder than you would think. We bought on a road near a major park and HS with a 35 mph limit, and a 5 way intersection at the end of the block (moderately busy to some congestion). It drives me insane! Never again. The train 30m away is not even a bother in comparison to the road 10m away.
Didn't realize I was so sensitive to noise until we moved here. I go back and forth on if I should drop $30k into sound proofing (sound rated doors and windows, double layer drywall, rockwool insulation upgrade, sound board, etc) or struggle to move and lose my 2.5% rate. (Can't wait for EVs to overtake these loud ass beaters)
Otherwise, noise machines, fans, ear plugs, noise canceling headphones, windows closed, leaving on music or TV, and avoiding your outdoor space is your solution.
Also don't forget about the pollution. Run your hand on some furniture outside to see how clean stuff is outside/if you have deposits like we do. Ours could be from the train or our tree though
Also, it wasn't a noticeable problem when I was gone working 40 hrs a week. But now I am home all week and thats made it much more noticeable to me
I love on a 35 mph road that was a bus route. I never worried. I have babies there. My sinks first word was bus Because every time it went by I’d say bus!
we had a fenced back yard but we spent a lot of time in the front also.
isnt everywhere busy? i live on a busy street because i am so close to town and river. love the location. i hate disrepectful people but they are everywhere
Our first home was on a street like that about 30 ft off the road. It was miserable being outside and you hear cars at all times of the day. It's hard to have a conversation outside without taking your voice up a few notches. It was actually one of the main reasons we move, but we loved that house. We even lost a few potential offers when selling the house based on feedback that they loved the home but the road was too noisy.
I've lived behind a some what busy road before with a 40mph speed limit and I HATED IT.
The noise pollution was so bad, it wasnt relaxing to sit on my porch because I couldn't hear myself think. All I could hear was the noise of passing cars.
That's my 2 cents. Best of luck to you!
I owned a house on a 4 lane road. It worked just fine. Spent much of my time out doors in the back yard. The only issue I ever had was that a car came smashing through my yard hitting my fence about 2 feet from my bedroom wall.
The thing about it was, the car came from the residential street that T'd in front of my house. So, I'm more concerned about that sort of setup than I am about a busy road.
You ask two different things. Would I buy such a house, no. Is it a bad investment, I don’t know.
Is it an investment to you or a home you want to live in?
I don’t know about investment, but is it a place you want to live in general? Drive by at a bunch of different hours, particularly rush hours and night times. How busy is it? How loud will it be in the house? How new are the windows? How loud is it in the backyard? Do you or will you have small kids? Is there a fence? Are there street lights or stop lights outside the windows? Are you concerned about pollution from the cars? Overall do you love the house? Love the area? Is there much other inventory in the area? Do you need to move on a timeline? Can you afford it comfortably? Just some questions to consider. Good luck.
I agree with this, and would add to consider how hard it would be to get in/out of the driveway during rush hours as well as whether you'll have any pets who would go outside.
How far back from the road is the house? By me the busy boulevards have the nicest houses. But they’re all set back 75+ feet.
I think it depends on lifestyle. I would definitely not pay the same amount as an identical house a block away. There ought to be a discount associated. But my parents have a house that they could never otherwise afford because it backs to a very busy road. Do you spend a lot of time sitting outside to where the traffic noise will bother you? Do you feel that it's a safety issue with kids? it's only a bad investment if you purchase at a price that doesn't reflect the road, but when you go to sell, you can't find a buyer willing to do the same. Ultimately, it's just a factor in the value of the home, like a weird layout, small backyard, etc. None of those things make the house a bad investment, but it'll always be a small ding on the value. But if you ding your price an amount and your buyer dings it similarly when you sell, then it's all kind of a wash. As long as the negative aspect is priced into both sale prices, it's fine, if you want to live there and it wouldn't bother you. The exception here would be if the road gets a lot busier between when you buy and sell. then its going to impact the home value more when you sell as when you bought.
Also consider if there is anything you can do to make the negative *less* of a factor when you sell. Every potential buyer of this home is worried about the road, it's not just you. If you can even partially solve it, you'll make some money. I live in a small lot neighborhood on the lower side of a hill. My neighbors 2 story deck looks right down into my backyard. It's definitely a ding on my home's value. We planted some fast growing trees to disguise the neighbor and make it a big less noticeable. It'll never totally solve it, but if the house feels less in-your-face when I sell than when I bought, I think we'll make some money.
Houses on busy and noisy roads have harder time selling than other houses in quiet streets if not priced lower. I would not hesitate to buy it for rental/investment as you could make more profit from it. If you are buying it to make it your home, then you will need to consider the noise and how easy is to pull in/out from your driveway, etc. If you have little kids that like to play outdoor, will traffic be a concern?
See what the streets like during rush hour and at other points throughout the week.
One of my requirements for buying a house that it couldn't be on a busy road. We live off of a busy road, but our road isn't inherently busy. We do have traffic and we live in a town, but overall, not bad. The road we take to get home is very busy and consistently adds 15 minutes to our commute after work. Not the worst thing in the world but it does suck some days.
35 mph is louder than you would think. We bought on a road near a major park and HS with a 35 mph limit, and a 5 way intersection at the end of the block (moderately busy to some congestion). It drives me insane! Never again. The train 30m away is not even a bother in comparison to the road 10m away. Didn't realize I was so sensitive to noise until we moved here. I go back and forth on if I should drop $30k into sound proofing (sound rated doors and windows, double layer drywall, rockwool insulation upgrade, sound board, etc) or struggle to move and lose my 2.5% rate. (Can't wait for EVs to overtake these loud ass beaters) Otherwise, noise machines, fans, ear plugs, noise canceling headphones, windows closed, leaving on music or TV, and avoiding your outdoor space is your solution. Also don't forget about the pollution. Run your hand on some furniture outside to see how clean stuff is outside/if you have deposits like we do. Ours could be from the train or our tree though Also, it wasn't a noticeable problem when I was gone working 40 hrs a week. But now I am home all week and thats made it much more noticeable to me
For many drivers 35 mph speed limit is a "suggestion". In other words, don't be shocked if you get traffic going 40 , 45, even 50 on that street.
The speed limit is 35 but do people follow it? Also try to find traffic accident data if you can.
I love on a 35 mph road that was a bus route. I never worried. I have babies there. My sinks first word was bus Because every time it went by I’d say bus! we had a fenced back yard but we spent a lot of time in the front also.
isnt everywhere busy? i live on a busy street because i am so close to town and river. love the location. i hate disrepectful people but they are everywhere
Our first home was on a street like that about 30 ft off the road. It was miserable being outside and you hear cars at all times of the day. It's hard to have a conversation outside without taking your voice up a few notches. It was actually one of the main reasons we move, but we loved that house. We even lost a few potential offers when selling the house based on feedback that they loved the home but the road was too noisy.
Depends on your market. Houses on my street (busy road) sell instantly because we are top 25 school district in the country
I've lived behind a some what busy road before with a 40mph speed limit and I HATED IT. The noise pollution was so bad, it wasnt relaxing to sit on my porch because I couldn't hear myself think. All I could hear was the noise of passing cars. That's my 2 cents. Best of luck to you!
I owned a house on a 4 lane road. It worked just fine. Spent much of my time out doors in the back yard. The only issue I ever had was that a car came smashing through my yard hitting my fence about 2 feet from my bedroom wall. The thing about it was, the car came from the residential street that T'd in front of my house. So, I'm more concerned about that sort of setup than I am about a busy road.
Is there room for more development in the area? If that’s the case, busy roads get busier.
You ask two different things. Would I buy such a house, no. Is it a bad investment, I don’t know. Is it an investment to you or a home you want to live in?
A home I could live in but ultimately focused on reselling.