Pune

The valuation of property today, is being increasingly dictated by noise and sound levels in one's adjacent area. Read on…

Think about this: As soon as you step out of your house, you are exposed to cars honking continuously; screeching noises of the breaks; people abusing each other to get past; fights on the roads and the list is long. And you have to manoeuvre your way through all this in order to reach your destination. Is this an ideal start to your day? Not really!

In fact, increasing decibel levels and traffic congestion on the roads have now started affecting not only the health of the people, but also the realty market (read: particularly the residential sector). Experts believe that the noise pollution today, considerably influences the value of the property as it lowers the liveability quotient of the area and compromises on the safety of the residents.

Opt for a home closer to the workplace

"Cities and towns have been developing at a rapid pace and one of their major fallouts are traffic bottlenecks. In fact, if an area is subjected to massive traffic jams and the locality scores low on transportation benefits, the prices are adversely affected. Hence, people are increasingly looking for homes nearer to their workplace so that they are able to not only save time, but also lead a slightly comfortable life (read: even if it comes at an expensive price)."

Opt for public transportation

"Since I have started working, I avoid using the road to commute from one place to another. I prefer the railways as it helps me reach my destination in a much lesser time and that too, with more ease. Plus, traffic on the roads has increased manifold in the past couple of years due to an increase in the number of people owning private vehicles. Hence, whenever I intend to purchase a house, I would make sure it is nearby or walkable to the railway station."

A search for peaceful surrounding

"A major part of my life I have lived on a busy road in Mumbai. Hence, honking of the cars, erratic movement of vehicles and incessant jams have become a part of our day-to-day living. Hence, recently we moved to a much quieter and far-off location as we could no longer handle the consequences of noise pollution. Authorities should look into this issue seriously as it is harmful for the people living in the adjacent locality."

Difficulty in selling the property

“My house is located in a bustling locality of a leading metro and equipped with all the amenities and facilities. And since a long time, I have been looking to sell it and move into a bigger apartment. However, the price being offered to me is less than the market value and the reason behind this is - my house is close to one of the busiest and nosiest highways. Hence, though people showed a lot of interest, they shied away from buying my house due to the nuisance around my vicinity."

Change in locational preference

“The property preferences and price gradient today are driven by factors such proximity to the workplace. An increase in traffic has resulted in higher travel times at business districts, due to which multiple localities have moved away from such places. Farther the home from office, more time it takes to reach (and perhaps worse would be the traffic). In many metros today, business districts are concentrated at a single location, which has resulted in a two-fold increase in road travel time over the last decade. And this has had a direct impact on locational preferences."

Strict policies by the government

“Exposure to excessive traffic noise can result in deafness, high blood pressure, heart disease and mental illness. Hearing tests on many regular commuters, traffic policemen and children exposed to high noise levels have revealed an increased level of deafness. However, there has been an increasing awareness about the negative impact of noise pollution and many areas witnessing high decibel levels are seeing a sea change. But the government authorities need to formulate stricter policies and penalise people who do not adhere to the rules."