Six threats to the value of a home

A messy yard, proximity to a sex offender or having certain commercial facilities nearby, such as a power plant, may reduce the value of surrounding homes by as much as 15 percent, according to MSN Real Estate.

MSN Real Estate recently rounded up some of the most common threats to the value of a home.

Powerplants. The data are fairly clear on the impact of a power plant on nearby home values — it usually hurts them. A study from the University of California at Berkeley shows that home values within two miles of a power plant can be decreased between 4 percent and 7 percent.

Landfills. A study from the Pima County, Ariz., assessor’s office shows that a subdivision near a landfill loses 6 percent to 10 percent in value compared with a subdivision that isn’t near a landfill — all other residential factors being equal, including house size, school quality and residential incomes.

Sex offenders. Living near a registered sex offender is one of the biggest downward drivers of home values. Researchers at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., concluded that the closer you live to a sex offender, the more your home will depreciate. In the paper, Longwood researchers say, “The presence of a registered sex offender living within one-tenth of a mile reduces home values by about 9 percent, and these same homes take as much as 10 percent longer to sell than homes not located near registered sex offenders.”

Foreclosed homes. Perhaps the biggest single factor that drives nearby home values down is a foreclosure. A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concludes that the value of homes within 250 feet of a foreclosed property will decrease by 1 percent per foreclosure, on average.

Lackluster landscaping. Studies show that lawn care has a big impact on surrounding home values. Virginia Tech University released a report stating that pristine landscaping can jack up the value of a home by 5 percent to 11 percent.

Closed schools. Sometimes, neighborhood problems can stem from local government action. For example, if a cash-strapped city or town closes a neighborhood school, that can easily steer home values south. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) says 75 percent of home shoppers say the quality and availability of schools in the neighborhood is either “somewhat important” or “very important.”