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Why You Should Know About Building Projects in Your Community

As a buyer or seller, the more information at your disposal, the better the decisions you need to make will be. And this includes knowing about any building projects in your area that might impact either the sale of your home OR your decision to buy a home in the area.

Many towns have projects that are either being proposed, under review or perhaps have been approved for construction. Building projects might be:

providing additional needed housing, including affordable units
better public transportation facilities
improving traffic flow (wider roads, intersections)
installing storm drains (flood control)
erosion control
new utilities (gas or power lines)
building new roads
new golf course
creating space for additional retail
a new school, church, synagogue, senior center, hospital etc.

Building projects often add tax dollars to the town, at least when residential or commercial facilities are added. But they may also create problems, either temporarily or permanently, depending on your perspective:

increased traffic and congestion
disruption to traffic flow
temporary or permanent alterations to the environment and wildlife
added noise
obstruction of views

So why is this potentially important, to you as a buyer or a seller?

Building projects can interfere with your willingness to purchase a certain home (or, as a seller, for you to readily find buyers), depending on the nature of the project. Some construction can change the views (say of the ocean or the landscape), add to the traffic on an already busy street, or create noise in a previously serene neighborhood.

Some folks argue that certain projects may decrease housing values. That may be true in some cases (say a large manufacturing facility being built adjacent to an upscale neighborhood). It certainly can narrow the pool of people who might be willing to buy your home; buyers will often ask about these things and certain projects may need to be disclosed in your areas. And if you are a buyer you would want to know about these things, and do your own due diligence so you can make an informed decision.

And there is often the NIMBY attitude - it's OK elsewhere in the town but not near me. Is that your feeling, too? Would this prevent you from buying in a certain area? Or would you see the new project as a boon to the area?

So get educated on these issues in your town (or the areas you are interested in buying in) so you can determine how best to deal with them. Pricing, of course, can have a big impact. As in any location, overpricing will not sell your home, and if there are significant building projects that might detract from the desirability, appropriate pricing will be even more important. And remember the pool of willing buyers may be reduced.

And it's wise to seek the services of a knowledgeable agent who can help you examine these local issues and their potential impact.

Watch for my follow-up post on building projects in the Carlsbad area.

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Posted by Jeff Dowler ~ Carlsbad Real Estate ~ 760-840-1360 on 08/18/2007 07:28 PM

Comments (20)

buyers, sellers, agents, pricing, public opinion, jeff dowler

Originally posted at: Carlsbad Real Estate News and Views: Why You Should Know About Building Projects in Your Community

20 Comments on Why You Should Know About Building Projects in Your Community

AUG

2007

A knowlegable agent will have all this info at hand to relay it to the client. Great pointer about the effects in can have on a community. Here the majority of the issue would be "view", traffic ....in fact everything you mentioned.

And hey...that's why Carlsbad has a good agent there!

Hi Jeff,

Good information here. NIMBY seems to be pretty common place for many areas, regardlee of the type of construction. As for my area, new homes have been a plus and has helped the value re-sale homes too.

The only thing I can't quite figure out is that since we're sitting in traffic around town more than we should be, they always seem to have a plan to "mitigate" the traffic concern of adding more homes. Truthfully, I've never once seen it work in my community, oh well, we all seem to manage.

Jeff- NIMBY is popular in every neighborhood.. A good agent has to know what is happening in the neighborhood.. it's part of the job designation..

Jeff - We have this issue in my area..... A new Parkway providing N/S access from the airport area north for nine miles. It is much needed, yet the locals are not happy about what it means to the area. We will have growing pains and it will be frustrating, yet, it will happen. Since this road is now a two lane highway for the most part, people moving to the area need to know whether their backyard will be a four lane Parkway in the near future. Same with the Big Four Railyard. Now, if you have never heard the screech of a train as it brakes, oh my, you are in for a surprise. I drive my clients through my area and let them know where the train tracks are versus the area they are searching. If not, they could have many sleepless nights and be cursing me as they lay awake.

This is what differentiates a professional Realtor!

Thanks for this post - we are a small community going through BIG growing pains with lot's of retail development, including a Wal-Mart - which was anything but welcomed!

I'm certain that it will all even out when the roads are in and the construction is done - all we have is time..

Jeff, most people do not want to see things around them change, but if we are going to have the services that we need, then the need for the services will have to out weigh the desire of those around it to leave things as is. Most people complain about taxes, and fail to realize that by welcoming businesses into their community that they can lighten that tax burden.

AUG

2007

Great points Jeff. Our newest community brought a few people from the bigger cities who are not accustomed to the ways of life in a smaller and more family oriended cities.

My friend is contemplating a building over looking the beach from the floor the unit view is on...but there is an open lot that probably will have another building put there and probably will abstract his view...we always try to find out about those things first. You never know.

Sally - thanks for the compliment. Yep, here too it is all about the view (ocean, hills) and the noise (freeway that runs through the coastal towns). And building issues have a big impact on the values of homes, which shyrocket when you hava views or are waterfront.

Jeff

I agree with you there, Lynda. They have spent millions widening the freeways and adding some road extensions but the growth seem to overtake these improvements. Part of the problem is that the traffic mitigation is always after the fact rather than being in a forethinking manner. And now we will always be playing catchup.

Jeff

Kaye - I agree with you on that point. But many don't. And in towns where there is a lot going on it's hard to keep up.

Jeff

You're right, Paula. We need to do what we can to inform buyers, but they also need to do their due diligence so they can make the decision that is right for them.

And everyone seems to respond differently to noise - we have multimillion dollar homes perched along the freeway with constant noise, but they have gorgeous ocean view. The train that runs north and south is also an issue for some folks - personally I would rather have periodic train noise than constant freeway.

Jeff

Leigh - good luck. Those issues are always a struggle. Thanks for visiting.

Jeff

George - well I think that IS the central issue. And no one wants to pay more property taxes to cover the increasing need and desire for services. The challenge is balancing the growth is a smart way.

Jeff

Thanks, Mana. I have seen the same thing. BUt there are also those that move to the coast from inland and are not accustomed to how much more crowded it is, the noise from the freeway and train, and the traffic. It's always a big adjustment either way.

Jeff

Thanks, Neal. I find that is probably the biggest issue with homes near the water that have views. And there are no guarantees unless you know the land is not buildable or that height restrictions will prevent a problem. Hope it all works out for your friend.

Jeff

Good information as usual Jeff. Especially on the heels of that pesky virus you helped us better understand earlier. Because of the environmental regulations up here, we rarely have any building of consequence to consider. Though Heavenly's purchase by Vail Ski Corp. some years back was a blessing for both our local economy and the real estate market. Now we've got a convention center coming and that will very likely have the same positive effect. We like that.

Jeff - This is so true. It's just another example of why it's so important to work with an agent who knows the area. One of our fellow Rainers had a situation devlop that there's was a proposed construction of a very large development for a particular religious organization. That would have had a huge impact on the surrounding residences. The agent did their best to research it before listing a home in the area in order to be completely prepared to disclose the proposed construction to potential buyers. Great topic, Jeff!

Haha, Gary. Thanks. Sometimes big projects have a major positive impact. Appreciate your thoughts.

Jeff

Thanks, Marlene. I have heard of several significant situations recently that had major impact on buyers' decisions. And in my area there are a number of new subdivisions in the works that are vastly changing the views and traffic. Good to have more housing, but it does affect other people and has raised some controversy. Thank you for your thoughts on this issue and for the story.

Jeff

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