Real Estate That Backs To A Busy Street: Run To It Or Run For The Hills?

Real Estate That Backs To A Busy Street: Run To It Or Run For The Hills?

So you've found a fantastic deal on a parcel of real estate. It is the right size, the right price, and can be purchased quickly with a minimum of hassle. The only down side is that the parcel of property backs onto a busy street. Should you still purchase the property or should you begin looking for a different piece of property to purchase? Only you can decide whether you can be happy on a street with all the sounds and activity of an active cityscape and traffic; after all, if that's the way you grew up you might just love more than anything! From a standpoint of real estate value, however, the answer mainly depends on the housing market at the time. In a Seller's Market If you find this nearly perfect parcel of property during a seller's market, you should avoid purchasing the property at that time and begin looking for something else. In a seller's market, you will be paying more than what you should for property with an obvious flaw. Real estate parcels with flaws like that are not easy to resell in most markets and many potential homeowners have no desire, assuming that they have a choice, to live in a home that backs to a busy street. Purchasing this property during a seller's market, when price levels are relatively high and inflexible, may cause a great deal of future financial headache and stress. In a Buyer's Market On the other hand, if the property is discovered during a buyer's market, and by all objective measures it is a good deal with the traffic factored into the price, you might want to purchase the property before someone else beats you to it. You should be able to obtain a great deal on the property and pay a lower price than you would during a seller's market. If you are able, you should hold on to the property until it is a seller's market again, when you may be able to sell the property for a good price due to the appreciation of the property. Variables Impacting Price It is important to remember that in the real estate market, nothing is certain and there is an inherent risk in every transaction. Just because a property is forecasted to do well or poorly is no guarantee that the property will perform as predicted. There are many variables that could possibly affect the prices of the real estate in the area and could cause certain real estate parcels to quickly gain or lose value. In some cases, areas around busy streets can be rezoned for commercial development, which can cause the value of the property to rise. But it is just as common for busy streets to be widened, without a change in zoning, so more traffic can be funneled through. This will cause the value of the property to decrease because now the additional noisy activity makes the neighborhood less appealing and desirable to new homeowners. In real estate investing, very little is certain and anything can change.