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The only reason I could see to be on a busy street would be to have some kind of "commercial" establishment in my home like a tax service, hair stylist etc.
That's it, right there. Last house I bought, I had to have it on a busy main road so that I could have my business somewhere where I had tons of free advertising on my own property. Plus, the weather was known to be rough in that area and it wasn't as likely that my students would come for their lessons if my house was located off of a poorly-plowed dirt road.
Where I live now, I had to locate near a busy area of town for business purposes.
However, it sucks for purely residential purposes.
So, if you don't need to put a business in your home, do whatever you must do to live on a hardly-traveled residential road. Even if it adds a mile or two to your commute, it's worthwhile.
Many times, those less desirable location houses have more bells and whistles that get people excited about the house. Maybe a very nice backyard getaway or the extra Media room that the other house doesn't have. Maybe it's all really expensive hardwood floors verse carpet. Usually, you'll see more upgrades and features in a house on the mains street, so it might be listed for the same price, but value is there with what the house has to offer.
There are many minuses and pluses including:
- that the govt may take away part of your front yard when/if the road is widened
+ (and compensate you)
+ could have commercial value, now or someday (often a pipe dream)
- noise, pile up of snow drifts from the snow plows -- we all get snow, right? :-)
but mostly me thinks a good buyer's agent would be advising their client that a home on a busy street can be extremely difficult to sell, for when that time comes.
If you are seeing it now offered at the same price as one on an off street, it is a good possibility the owner will not come to grips with the reality of its value until it's on its 4th or 5th listing.
In the mean time, a good listing agent will see it as a terrific place for a 6 month low cost location for a sign with a personal picture.
We live where the road deadends into the freeway, I5. Our neighbor gets the worst of it. At the other end of this road, about 6 blocks away is the train crossing. I'll take the freeway over the rail.
As for your question, there should be a large discount for the house with the traffic.
I was once told to never buy a house on a road that had a line painted down the middle of it.
You nailed it ! I grew up on a busy street & it was terrible. I could spend hours writing about the issues I lived with. I now live on a dead-end road Living on a busy street is not worth any discount to me.
For me, it's all about road noise and fast cars zooming down the road that are a problem for kids playing in the street (or driveway). If the house far enough in the cul-de-sac, then it's fine (maybe 50 yards?).
The house could have been there long before the road got that busy and there should not be a discount on the home because of this. I know homes that were once out in the country that are now part of the city with the road being built right in front of their homes that have been there for more than 50 years.
Absolutely there is a difference in the market value of those two properties. And is is absolutely true that it will be very difficult to quantify the difference. In the end, you won't know till you try to resell the home some day. You could do some analysis based on comps on and off that street and try to to get a feel for it. For me, the difference in what I would be willing to pay is substantially more than it might be for someone else. I'm not sure I would want the house on the busy street at any price.
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busy street
Living on a busy street is not worth any discount to me.
