Hey everyone, I’m curious about how much a single-family home might be discounted if it has a passenger train track (Via Rail) about an acre away from the back of the house. If the house is listed for 1.2 million, what would be a reasonable offer? Also, as a buyer, do you think this home could ever retain its market value, or is it doomed by the train track forever?
I think retaining value depends on the area. My parents had a townhome in the Chicago suburbs with a commuter rail less than 60 feet away. They bought it in 1998 and sold in 2024, and they saw a 150% growth in value despite going through the dot-com bubble and the Great Recession.
As a REALTOR®, I can say it will always carry that stigma. It’ll be known as the ‘home next to the train.’ While it can still appreciate, it won’t appreciate as much as a home without a train track nearby. If you offer 10% under, remember when you sell, you’ll likely be the one taking that -10% cut off the sale.
@Hayes
Thanks for your insight. The location is perfect and the house checks a lot of boxes, but if we decide it’s not our forever home, we need to think about being in the sellers’ shoes one day and dealing with this stigma.
A square acre is about 400 x 400 feet. Are you saying the house is only 400 feet from the train track? If the seller and their agent are reasonable, the list price likely considers the sale of similar properties near the train, so you might not get to further discount it.
@Teo
It’s roughly 1200 feet from the house, so not super close, but still something to consider.
This is a key question. Is it already priced to take the train into account? How does the price compare with other houses near the train? You could ask your Realtor to prepare comps that analyze the price differences between homes near the train and those further away.
@True
Thank you, I’ll definitely look into those details.
You should assume the seller considered the train when setting the price. Instead of passively asking for a discount, come at them with a statement like, ‘No, 1.2 million this close to the tracks, I’ll consider it for X with this train noise.’
I live near train tracks and even pay a premium for townhomes near train stations.
Toryn said:
I live near train tracks and even pay a premium for townhomes near train stations.
Why is that?
Toryn said:
I live near train tracks and even pay a premium for townhomes near train stations.
Why is that?
Having light rail access to city centers is super convenient for me, even if it doesn’t save time. I’d rather take a train and then Uber or bus the last few miles than sit in traffic or drive.
An acre away is about 1/4 mile, which is far enough that the train is just background noise. Closer, it depends on the local market and how the train noise affects your property. Homes with environmental issues like noise typically have that priced in. You might save $100k on purchase, but then when you sell, it’ll be $100k less than a home without this issue.
@Hart
That makes sense. We could end up in the same position but in reverse one day. It’s a lovely home, but if we know it won’t be our forever home, maybe we should move on and avoid the headache.
Just a heads up, an acre is not 1/4 mile; it’s quite close. My father-in-law has a freight line in his backyard, about 750 feet away, and it’s pretty annoying, but it hasn’t impacted the sale of homes in the neighborhood that are similarly close.
There’s no real ‘reasonable’ discount. It depends on what a buyer is willing to spend on a house next to a train. It also depends on how often the train comes and if it blows its horn.
I would never buy a home near railroad tracks.