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Water Tower

A water tower behind a house in the Pocket area of Sacramento

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I swear I don’t have some sort of water tower fetish. I posted a photo of a tower in Galt last week and now this week I’m sharing another image from the field today. While taking comp photos in the Pocket/Greenhaven area of Sacramento a few hours ago, this image stood out to me. No, it’s not the mothership from V. It’s a water tower off of Freeport Blvd.

I’m intrigued by real estate and how a certain view might impact whether a buyer will purchase a particular property or not. This water tower is not literally next to the backyard of the house above as it seems from my photo, but the view from my camera lense is really what it looks like with the naked eye. You’ll get a better sense of distance by viewing a “bird’s eye” image below from Sacramento MLS. Personally, I’m actually fond of this water tower. It has a good look and I love how it says “Sacramento: City of Trees” for passersby on Interstate 5. It probably wouldn’t bother me too much if I lived with such a view. That’s just me though.

Do you think a view of a water tower like this would turn you off? Or would any negativity associated with the water tower be offset by the positive of having no rear neighbors?

Would you buy the house right next to this water tower?

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I got a kick out of this aerial image. I have three appraisals in my bag right now in the City of Galt from a very loyal client, and during the course of research I came across a property located near F Street right next to the Galt water tower. This was a potential comp that I didn’t end up using.

A water tower like this is something that should be disclosed in the appraisal report because it could be a potential hazard if it fell. That wouldn’t be good. Additionally, there may be a reaction in the marketplace for the location. Some buyers would pass up making an offer on this property, whereas others might not care. Ultimately, through the course of research, the appraiser needs to come to a conclusion if there is any value to be assigned to the location based on what the market is showing, and if so, how much that reaction is worth.  

I’m curious to hear from home owners or prospective owners on this topic. If your property is located next to a water tower or within fall distance of another type of structure (power tower), have you encountered any difficulties with financing or reselling your property? Or if you were in the market to make a home purchase, would such a location be a turn-off or no big deal?

Your comments are welcome below. Thanks so much. I really appreciate everyone visiting my blog.

Question: Could a location near a water tower impact market value for a home?

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Somebody asked me the following question the other day and I figured I’d post a response here.

Q: Could a location near a water tower impact market value for a home?

A: Maybe. Sometimes water towers are quite large and the typical buyer may not want to live right next to the tower. Let’s face it, some buyers simply wouldn’t want to look at an enormous tower every day, so they’d steer clear of such a location. If this was the case and most buyers felt that way, then there could be an impact on market value. On the other hand, there may be other buyers who would be unaffected by a water tower, or evidence to suggest that such a location makes no difference at all.

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There is not a hard-and-fast water tower rule for appraisers to follow. There is no specific “water tower adjustment” that appraisers make in reports. An adjustment in an appraisal report would really depend on what data in the specific market was saying. Any adjustment should be based on the reaction in the marketplace. Is there any evidence in the market that buyers are willing to pay less  or more based on the location of a water tower? How do the most recent sales surrounding the water tower compare with sales further away? Does data show that there is really little to no impact on value?

Market conditions certainly play into the equation here too. If there is a vast oversupply of properties listed in the market, chances are someone might look to other listings first that maybe had a more typical view. However, in a market with very limited available properties, buyers may feel less concerned about such an issue and not consider a view of a water tower as a negative. After all, in a hot market with few properties to choose from, buyers tend to more easily overlook locational challenges (busy street, backs to commercial, located next to major fixer…) and even condition issues.

I don’t mean to be frustrating, but there is not really a straightforward end-all answer to the question that was posed to me. The answer really depends on your specific real estate market and what data in your local market says. My knee-jerk reaction is that most buyers would probably prefer to not live next to a water tower, but then again, it really comes down to what the data says because sometimes a real estate market is surprising and things that we think would make a difference in value don’t carry as much weight as we think (or none).

If you have any firsthand experience with a property near or next to a water tower, I’d be curious to hear what you have to say. Have you ever intentionally purchased a property near a water tower or away from one? Did you purchase a property near a water tower only to regret it later on? Is it just not a big deal for you at all? Feel free to comment.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Question: Could a location near a water tower impact market value for a home?