Would you buy above a tunnel?

Classy response. Thanks for your helpfulness.

 

Sorry, I thought you were taking the ****.

Secondary location is always going to be discounted regardless if its blue chip or not.

No one will pay more for a property if their are issues such as noise, traffic, rail tunnel noise, high voltage, near dumps etc etc. as opposed to a well located property in quiet location.

re agents would be able to confirm this by their sales and the demand for this property, buyers will bring this up immediately as a negative and a way of discounting, I would.

I always ask myself would I have an issue selling and if the answer is yes, I wont buy it, I just don't want to take a chance.

Certainly in my years of posting on SS/PC first time I believe someone has posted on tunnels.



MTR

 

Had a GFC value impact and a flood value impact, but no tunnel value impact that I am aware of!

 

Only if it's a Tunnel of love and I'm being single again.
To be serious I would never consider a purchase like that. Vibrations from heavy vehicles are to be felt even if it's only on a micro scale. You might not feel them physically but you'll now they are existing. A big no for me.

 

Look for similar examples of property performance in other cities that are over road tunnels and see what Ihas happened. Im not sure, maybe others can advise?

 

Anyone live along here?


Pretty significant but given the depth I believe is unlikely it would affect values, plus restrict any future development. Unless it's near entry/exit or shallow sections


No Cookies | Daily Telegraph

 

@MTR Ah, OK. Sorry, not sure what part of my post was ambiguous, but was just checking that I didn't miss something in the article.

As I mentioned, I don't disagree about there being two (or more, maybe?) tiers of desirability in location within a suburb/area.

But, in the spirit of answering the OP's specific question, I was simply pondering that I don't think there would be an impact on value PURELY because a tunnel happened to pass underneath. If there were other impacts (pollution, traffic congestion) then yes it would be likely.

So I guess we just disagree that a tunnel passing below - with no noise impacts, no nearby vents (assumed, I'd check this out first), and no traffic effects - equals a secondary location.

 

I see what you mean.

the only way to determine whether this would impact on the property value is to view recent sales of similar properties in the area. That's the evidence.

I certainly know that blue chip properties vary in price due to location, so I go back to the question if 2 properties were the same price in the same area, however one was over a tunnel as opposed to the other in a quiet location which would be more desirable??

This is why I would expect a discount for the property sitting above a tunnel, even if there was limited noise, its just the fact that it is a negative to potential buyers and therefore it will limit your market when selling. Same as this thread, some would buy this and some would not.

I am a definite NO.

MTR

 

If there is nothing in the contract to specify an easement or restriction of any sort, and it's not obvious from maps, I reckon most buyers might not pick up the presence of the tunnel.

 

Not sure if you tried the links in OP, but......


That is not DD just RE.com.....pretty obvious to me.

 

That it's in Paddington?

 

It wasn't a tunnel but when the then F3 was built in Wahroonga I was working as a RE agent in the area, prices plummeted when it was being built and soared when it was finished.

 

In general i dont see a problem with buying over a tunnel unless it causes noise which you can observe by visiting the area. I think road noise, train and aircraft noise are the more significant things to look out for..

 

There's also the scenario where a property looks like its next to a major road on the maps but the road is actually a tunnel... it rules out some potential buyers who don't realise it is actually a tunnel. So prices can be lower for this reason too. So you get it a bit cheaper but when it comes time for you to sell you will probably run into the same problem.

 

Uncertainty does wonders to property values - always buy in uncertain times.

 

We live on the second floor of an apartment building that's pretty much directly over a train tunnel (Sydney eastern suburbs) and if I didn't see it on the map, I wouldn't know- not a single noise or vibration (and when we Airbnb guests always comment how peaceful our apartment is so its not like we've gotten used to it!) I'd be interested to know how far below the ground the tunnel is

 

I'm a structural engineer that's worked on tunnels. So thought I'd have a say.

You will only be able to hear or feel noise and vibrations on cut and cover sections of tunnel. This is where they dig the hole and cover with a series of bridges. For bored tunnel sections you won't notice any noise or vibration. As stated above. Keep away from vent stacks. Ugly, noisey and the pollution.

A tunnel will take about 4 years for the soil to settle around the new positions. This could cause issues with moving foundations above and the issues that can cause. These can be significantly worse if the tunnel is below the water table and they pump water out around it. See Melbourne's city link tunnel which helped sink a bridge pier above it.

So I'd have no issues with a bored tunnel that's been there years but cautious otherwise.

 

I was about to state a very similar thing - I'd be wary of any potential for subsidence - particularly if they are creating a depression in the water table.

 

Welcome to the forum @laam
I love it when a person with specialised knowledge joins and shares their knowledge.... sounds like you know exactly what you are talking about.
Keep posting!

 

Thanks for the welcome. I always love talking about infrastructure. I've been involved in many of the major infrastructure projects in Melbourne.

Learnt heaps from lurking this forum and Somersoft. So give back when I can.