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STUDIES MEASURE
AIRPORT IMPACT ON PROPERTY VALUES
MAG comment:- Many people believe that the
expansion of Manston Airport will increase property prices in the area.
Whilst
property prices may well increase the concern is that residents whose homes are
affected by aircraft noise will see the value of their homes reduced relative to
those in quieter neighbourhoods.
This will make it financially difficult for
those affected by noise to move elsewhere.
Here is some evidence from America
that the value of property is affected by noise from commercial aviation
In 1994, the consulting firm of Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc. was
commissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration to prepare a study entitled,
The Effect of Airport Noise on Housing Values: A Summary Report.
Clearly, the
FAA was concerned about this matter.
The study developed a methodology for
evaluating the impact of noise on housing values, by comparing market prices in
similar neighborhoods that differed only in the level of airport related noise.
The study found that the effect of noise on prices was highest in moderately
priced and expensive neighborhoods.
For two moderately priced "paired"
neighborhoods north of LAX, the study found "an average 18.6 percent higher
property value in the quiet neighborhood, or 1.33 percent per dB of additional
quiet."
A 1996 study, funded by a grant from the Legislature of the State of
Washington, used somewhat similar methodology and found that the proposed
expansion of Seattle-Tacoma Airport would cost five nearby cities $500 million
in property values and $22 million in real-estate tax revenue.
The study of
single family homes in "very good" condition, with "three or more
bedrooms and two or more baths" and "excluding the most expensive and
inexpensive units to provide more representative comparisons" found that
"a housing unit in the immediate vicinity of the airport would sell for
10.1 percent more-- if it were located elsewhere."
The study also concluded that, "all other things remaining equal, the
value of a house and lot increases by about 3.4% for every quarter of a mile the
house is farther away from being directly underneath the flight track of
departing/approaching jet aircraft
In 1997, Randall Bell, MAI, Certified General Real Estate Appraiser, Licensed
Real Estate Broker and instructor for the Appraisal Institute, provided the
results of his own professional analysis to the Orange County Board of
Supervisors.
After examining 190 sales comparables over the previous six months,
in communities near LAX, John Wayne airport and Ontario Airport, Mr. Bell found
a diminution in value due to airports averaging 27.4 percent.
MAG Comment:- These studies illustrate that residents
of Thanet whose homes are affected by aircraft noise, could easily see the value
of their property reduced by between 10 and 20 % relative to quieter areas of
the District.
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