Continuing with Tom Vanderbilt’s 2009 book Traffic: he observes (p. 160) that “House prices decline measurably as traffic rates and speeds increase,” and “when traffic-calming projects are installed, house prices often rise.”
(I may be unusually attuned to this topic because my wife and I are about to downsize, moving from a home to a condominium. And perhaps this topic is a bit of a stretch, so if you regard it as such, please take it as a spoonful of lighter fare on this very serious blog.)
It stands to reason that property values are higher on lightly traveled, quieter streets, such as cul-de-sacs and streets with other forms of speed reduction and traffic calming. Mostly likely, even city dwellers, those who don’t mind the bustle, like living on side streets.
So the question arises: if your teen driver is prone to either speeding, in the formal over-the-posted-speed-limit sense, or just driving too fast for conditions in your neighborhood — racing down a street where little kids are present and use the street for a playground — might that hurt your property value? It is not too far fetched to consider a realtor or neighbor talking about a street as “less then desirable” because of “teens that live here and drive too fast.” We have all seen those lawn signs that say “Drive like your kids live here.”
Teen driving as a pocketbook issue for parents. Food for thought!
