iscover
iscover 
Noise can be a major influence when residing in a home. Speaking from experience, I grew up in a house that backed onto a railway track and more recently lived directly under a flight path.
The noise this can create is more distracting than you may think. Noise should influence decisions just as other factors do.
These themes were addressed in a recent PropTrack report, in collaboration with Ambient Maps.
Noise pushes people out of properties. Investors are reportedly far more hesitant to invest in high-noise areas due to increased tenant turnover.
According to a 2019 study referenced in the report, those with internal noise levels that are predicted to exceed the WHO guidelines for nighttime noise, experienced a rental turnover that was 69 per cent higher over a five-year period, compared to those with lower nighttime noise levels.
The PropTrack study found that there were varying decreases in prices depending on the noise being created.
For every 10 decibels of noise created by trains, there was a 4 per cent decrease in property values. For traffic, every 10 decibels saw a 6 per cent decrease and plane flight paths dropped values between 6 per cent and 9 per cent.
Meanwhile, a 2020 study of properties around Cairns Airport revealed that properties in the flight path of the airport saw prices drop by 17 per cent.
Perhaps noise should be playing a bigger role in determining whether to purchase or rent a property. It should certainly play a role in the valuation of a property.
Health impacts
According to the European Environment Agency, the health effects of noise extend far beyond a minor annoyance.
The agency said that children living or attending school in areas impacted by transport noise tend to score lower on reading comprehension and face more behavioural challenges.
Meanwhile, over half a million children in Europe experience impaired reading ability due to environmental noise from road, rail, and air transport and almost 60,000 cases in Europe of behavioural difficulties in children are due to environmental noise generated from transport.
Further, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said noise is an “underestimated threat that can cause a number of short- and long-term health problems, such as for example sleep disturbance, cardiovascular effects, poorer work and school performance, hearing impairment, etc.”
Ongoing drama in the west
As a Blue Mountains native, the ongoing protests over the construction of Western Sydney Airport have been a hot topic in the local area.
The Residents Against Western Sydney Airport (RAWSA) has consistently displayed signs in the local area that read “Birds not Boeings”, call out “toxic air”, and criticise “24-hour noise”.
The government provided a statement saying that Western Sydney Airport “will have the strictest noise-related land use protections of any airport in Australia.”
There are measures being taken to minimise noise such as thoughtful flight path design, use of current aircraft that are quieter than older models, and restricting the types of buildings that can be constructed near the airport.
Still, it’s not surprising there are passionate people in the area who are worried about the noise to come.
Property investment adviser and head of analysis at Hello Haus, Sam Powell, said: “Historically they have underperformed surrounding areas for obvious reasons, noise is a massive issue.
“The methodology I would use is to look at the sale prices of similar properties of similar land size and improvements under a flight path and those not. There is a clear sign that they sell for a discount due to the impacts and lower levels of desirability/owner occupier appeal.”
He also said the appeal to live in suburbs of Western Sydney affected by the flight path will decrease.
“If you had a million bucks to spend, where would you spend it? Try not to spend it under a flight path is my point,” he said.
“You might not get that fully detached house that you are looking for but you might get a nice, large semi that’s not under the flight path. You would get better capital growth out of that as it doesn’t have those negative factors.”
However, Ray White Commercial’s head of research Vanessa Rader said the infrastructure additions could bump prices up.
“The land value appreciation of this area around the aerotropolis historically has been sound and given the current mismatch in supply and demand across Sydney price growth going forward will continue,” she said.
“Buyers may make consideration of the flight path when purchasing but the location advantages, transport, schools, employment opportunities are all considerations, which some may say have improved with the development of the airport.”
Clearly noise can have a tangible impact on property values. Whether or not that should deter buyers comes down to personal preference.
The property market is all about weighing up options and often compromising. Noise is just another blip that factors into the grand scheme.
