Would You Buy a House That Is the "Main Road" of a Development?

As a real estate appraiser, I would not buy a house on a main road in a development. Aside from the obvious risks due to increased traffic flow, the same house on a less-traveled road would be worth more (fair market value). No, I don't think he's being too picky.

If it has a nice backyard there's no reason for the kids to play out front.
I wouldn't buy a house on a main road though, because of the noise and the high risk of a car accident when backing out of the driveway.

My husband is a no-go on main roads as well....that and visable power lines...needless to say, I am not joking when I say we looked at 100+ houses before we bought.

I agree with hubby. I would not buy that house. Sorry...it is so hard when you find the perfect house in the perfect development with the perfect school and perfect neighbors..but the location is not perfect. I wouldn't want the noise of traffic either. We have friends that live on a main street...they had not one but two cars jump the curb and end up in their house. Crazy!!

This is just my personal opinion because my kids love to ride bikes and scooters and play with frisbees and balls. We have a gynormous 1/3 of an acre back yard but still the kids will also play out front when the neighbor kids are out and about.

Sooo, for us we looked at only home listings on a court/cul d sac. I didn't want my heart set on a home and then let that override their safety. Sooo, we waited and sure enough...a home popped up that was just "perfect" for our little family. We waited and waited..and prayed and prayed. We are so grateful we waited...this house has even more than we could have hoped for.

Good luck and best wishes finding your home sweet home!!

I don't care for main roads.
Our first house was on a through road (not a dead end) and the cars would really come zipping around the corner.
Cars parked on the street often were damaged.
Kids played in fenced back yards.
A cul de sac or an out of the way (away from major thoroughfare) is a lot quieter.

I would not. Think RESALE.

No, I would not buy a house on a main road. In fact, when we bought our house, I loved a house on a main road and hubby said "no way, it will be hard to sell."

With that said, I also wouldn't buy a house in a "development." We live in an old neighborhood, and I like the feel of it, lots of old trees, streets that weren't planned out, etc. Houses all look different, especially with lots of new builds, etc.

Even if I were single with no kids, or married with no kids -- I still would not buy on a heavily, or even moderately, busy road. Besides the issue of kids, there is much more:

Road noise.

The potential for having your access messed up (and yard messed up) when road works take place, such as replacing sidewalks or putting in pipes or wires under the road (happening all around us right now, and two blocks of our area, on a main road, have spent months with their road torn up 12 inches deep in front of their houses).

Then there's the fact that half the town, or in your case, half the development, will drive past your door every day, and in some neighborhoods that would feel too close for comfort. I don't really want to be working in my front yard and have cars whizzing by every two minutes, or even every 10 minutes.

I love that we are one block off a main road but on a tiny one-block-long street that no one drives down unless they are coming to this street or the street it turns into as it curves around our lot. This street is not a cut-through to anywhere else so if you're here, you mean to be here and are not doing a shortcut to somewhere.

Nope, wouldn't buy on any main road -- or a side road that was a known shortcut. Watch for that too. There are roads in our town that would seem to an outsider to be nice, quiet, residential "side roads" with lovely houses, but I know from years of living here that those smaller roads actually are used as shortcuts by commuters and locals going to and from the main roads. Get to know an area's road patterns well before you buy!

It really depends. You could be on the "main road" but be at the end of it, where there is very little traffic, and it ends in a cul-de-sac/dead end, OR you could be 2 houses in where there is a lot of "turn around traffic" (people who missed a turn or are lost and use it to turn around in)... Or if it is a really big development, the spot that everyone in the neighborhood uses for access/egress and there is just constant traffic there.

I would not buy a house that is directly across from a T intersection, that's for sure... No matter how many warning signs are there, eventually, someone is liable to plow straight through and into the house/yard. Just isn't worth the risk, b/c the risk isn't for something small, like messed up landscaping, but large, like loss of life (plowed into a bedroom in the wee hours by a drunk driver?).

So, it would be very difficult, from what you have said, to say "yea" or "nay"... because I don't know the exact layout of the neighborhood, what abutts it on the highway, where along the main road the house is located, etc..

I bought a house on the main road once. Once. It took forever to unload.
It's been 20 years since we did it. The traffic is 100X worse than it was then. We swore if we couldn't afford one in the back of the subdivision, we couldn't afford it. I think your H is right.

I am in agreement with your husband.

Not only will you encounter speeders, you will also encounter extra road noise.

The first house we built was on a golf course in a very nice area. As the neighborhood grew, our street became a cut thru street and I hated it. Police would often sit in my driveway to radar and ticket people.

Even after speed humps were installed, you stll got the noise of people rolling over them at the higher speed.

When we started looking to biuld our current home, one of the MAIN factors was to be on a private area road that was no cut through and not close to a main road.

We ended up about 2 miles away, built a bigger and better house on a large wooded lot backing up to an 85 acre park that will not be built on, lots of wildlife, lots of privacy ( no looking out the kitchen window into the next house... I can go out back stark naked and no one would see me)

The extra money we spent was FAR worth the aggrevation of the traffic on the cut through road. We are SO much happier with our current location. That said, we had a beautiful home on the golf course but it just was not worth it.

No, hubby is not being too picky. EVEN if you go through with this house, think about the outcome if you need to move.... RESALE

We also despise alleyways, water towers, cell towers, power lines, etc. and they are a deal breaker.

I live on the main road of a development. We do not have too much traffic going through because their are 3 entances into our development but our neighbors do drive way too quickly down the street. There are lots of moms in their huge SUVs that are going way above the speed limit while chatting on their cell phones. It blows my mind.
Last year at our annual homeowners meeting their names were called out as driving too fast and they were told to slow down:).
Your husband is right, it is a problem. Some neighbors put the cones in the street warning drivers to slow down when kids are playing soccer etc.

After witnessing the two lane main road in our subdivision turn into a four lane road (cutting peoples yard in half and getting WAY to close to the house in my opinion) I would have to say, he's got a point.

I DO live on the main road.

In 10 years, a drunk has crashed through my front yard once (the big ole tree stopped them from hitting the house). Most of my neighbors have had similar at SOME point in the last 30 years. But it's not like its a monthly thing. There's a dead cat at least once a month, though. Also lots and lots of street noise (triple pane windows block most of it), people drive 50 in a 35, not a lot of privacy, and... Of course... My son doesn't play out front at all unless we're working in the garden, etc. the front is simply not used. Including bikes/ etc. we have a fairly long driveway... So when he wants to play there, I block it off with my car (because people turn around in our driveway).

For ME, the trade offs were/are worth it. Because it set the price tag 200k less than on an interior street. That 200k was the difference between owning or not.

Resale will be decent, though, because its close in (city), in the best area for schools, on a big lot.

It is NOT child-friendly.
But, then, neither is an apartment.
HERE, we have a house we can be loud in.
And a back yard for playing.

I've lived on a main residential street for 30 or so years and there have been no accidents involving children or pedestrians for miles around. Not even on the main city street on which there are always numerous cars and located a couple of blocks away. The speed on this street is 25 or so mph. We have had a couple of accidents at intersections but those involved only cars. Accidents primarily happen on main city streets and not neighborhood streets. And I do not hear the cars inside my house. Also the noise is minimal even when I'm in the front yard.

Things to consider are the age of your children. I would not let small children play in front of my house; not because I car might come up on the sidewalk but because they might run into the street. Also, how many cars use the street and how fast do they go? 25 mph is the legal speed limit in a residential neighborhood. If cars go faster than that the residents can ask for help from the city. Our community has speed bumps on the busier streets. How far from the street is the house? Would you have a front yard?

I like being in my front yard so that I can interact with my neighbors. Having the street in front does not hamper us at all.

For me, if I like the house and location, i.e. schools and other amenities, I'd buy the house. It's highly unlikely that there would be a problem with traffic.

Thinking of our development -- on the plus side, it's closer to the school, the pool and the playground - but on the minus side, EVERYONE walks/drives by those houses to get to the school, pool and playground. The main street is wider - so people do tend to drive faster down that street.

I don't live on the main street, I'm tucked away far in a corner of the development. It's very quiet back here and I like it that way. I wouldn't pick a house on the main street. I do notice that the houses there tend to sell for less $ than the ones back further in the development.

But hey -- every house has its pros and its cons, right? -- so weigh them all and go from there. Good luck with whatever you decide is right for your family!

Sorry, and this really pains me... lol!! - but I have to agree with your husband. I would never want to be on a main road whether I had a fenced-in back yard, front yard or anything. It's too busy, period!

Our first house with children was on a cul-de-sac and it was wonderful because the houses were spaced far apart and set back from the road; we just about all had kids so we knew not to drive fast. The house we're in now is on a side/through-street but we sit way back off the road and it's really quiet.

My kids have friends in the popular subdivisions/developments around here and I'm so glad we don't live there! The traffic is horrendous!! If you do end up moving there maybe you could start a petition to get speed bumps put in.

Good luck!!

I grew up on the intersection of 2 highways. We always had a lot of traffic. The noise, you get used too and kids play in the backyards.

The thing I would be concerned about is traffic patterns at certain times of the day. I would go over by the house on weekday mornings about the time you need to leave for work. How bad is the traffic? How long woul it take to get out of the driveway? Would you have to make a right turn and then drive to an intersection that has lights so you can turn around and go the other way? When you live on a major street and need to leave for work it can take 15 minutes or more to get out of your own driveway if you need to make a left turn and cross all those lanes of traffic.
The other concern is if the house is the last house before an intersection, every time you try to turn into your own driveway, the people behind you think you are turning at the intersection and if they are not careful will rearend your car, or you could have lots of near misses.

I wouldn't. Sure, kids can play in the back yard to some extent, but most back yards aren't big enough to ride bikes, skateboards, go-carts and scooters, and they aren't usually paved. Street hockey would be totally out of the question. Getting out of the driveway can be a problem. Also, there often isn't parking allowed on the street of a main road at certain times of day, so if you are having guests over they will have to park on another block. I'm very picky though. No main roads, no corner lots, no back lanes, must have sidewalks and I need a house that faces east...

No, I wouldn't sacrifice my kids safety or my sanity of all those cars passing (even if my kids were inside). I've lived on one of those and after 10 years we swore we would never, ever buy another house on a main through street. It may not seem like a big deal now, but as life goes on and you want to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet, where your kids can ride bikes, you can walk the dog, have guests over etc. then I would keep looking.

I live on the main road that comes into our subdivision. We had a drunk driver plow into the fence...however that was in the middle of the night, when no children were outside.

Our biggest issue was the fact that we were the 5th house in the 100 house development so we had to deal with construction workers, people moving in as their houses were finished, etc.

I don't know how big the road is, so I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't not buy a house because it was on a "main road"

My parents, my brother, and my husband and I all own homes on the main road of different developments in the area. However, we all have homes in the back and near or on the cul-de-sac...so no one has a reason to be on our part of the street if they don't live here. If it was in the front, no freaking way.

It depends on what you mean by "main road". The main road into our development is 2 way with a grassy median in the middle for the first part and while people do often speed (go over 25mph), there have been no pedestrian accidents. Has he talked to any of the neighbors about their experience on the road? What is the backyard situation?

I suggest asking the neighbors (maybe see if someone is out and about - I was once asked about the area when I was walked DD back from the pool) because then you can get the POV of someone who sees the traffic in real time. Even though there was a house on our main road where someone drove into it, I'd tell people to buy. Why? Because it's a fluke, same as when some young college guy drove up the side of my car 10 years ago and landed on his roof. One freak accident in all the years DH has lived in this house.

But "main road" has so many meanings - not sure if we are talking apples or oranges here. What I wouldn't buy on in my area is a road where it's more than one lane each way and you can't easily get out of the driveway b/c of traffic. But there are things you can do - like put up a fence - if the main concern is the kids out front and no other house you look at meets other criteria (like crime rate, schools, etc).

there's that and also the resale value...

I found a house I LOVED but it backs up to one of the main roads in the community and has a super small sloped backyard. There is nothing wrong with the house other than those two things and it's been on the market for over a year... in a community where homes move FAST.

So, in addition to considering your husband's fears (which are valid), I would research how long houses on that main road stay on the market when compared to the same homes NOT on the main road in that same community. If you find the houses on the main road take longer to sell and/or they end up going for less than the houses not on the main road, then that's another strike against the house.

I'm with your husband on this one. It would be a deal killer for me, too.

I've often thought that I wouldn't want to live on the main road of our development. The drivers really do go way too fast. I know it's out of habit. When I drive down the road I have to force myself to not use the accelerator. I drive real slow to watch out for children and pets.

I'm with your hubby. I would not buy a house on the main road of a neighborhood. People in cars do wacky things, even when they're sober. I try to keep my kids as far away from cars as possible. Plus, those types of roads are noisy.

I would not buy a house on a main road. Several years ago, I built a new house in a new development and the builder told me the only lots available were on the main road. So, I just said, "No, thank you." and got up and started to walk away. THEN, he jumped up and said, "Oh, I'm sure I can trade a lot with one of the other builders if you want to build a house here." So, he did trade with one of the other builders and I was on a much nicer location off of the main road.

I was SUPER fearful of the fast cars for my kids. But, it is not just that - it's the constant traffic and noise.

Good luck,
L.

Do these homes not have a back yard? I have a third of an acre where three of the main streets intersect in our subdivision. Since most of our yard is in back anyway that is where they played or they went to friends house.

People drive 35 instead of the posted 25 but really if one of my kids had ran out in front of a car going 25 they are just as dead as 35...so they were never allowed to play in the front yard. Honestly even in other parts of the subdivision I don't think I would let them play out front either unless they were with all their friends.

So far as drunk, we have lived here 20 years and there was only one accident and that was due to ice and it was my oldest heading home. He slid right into the utility pole in our front yard.

Given what I know now I would still buy this house.
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I noticed a lot of concern about getting out of the driveway. I have always backed my cars into the driveway. Yes, it isn't the easiest to get out because I live on an old farm road so it is twisty and hilly, you can't see someone till they are on top of you. Backing the car is solved that perfectly, if it hadn't I would have put in a circle drive.

i wouldn't want one there. not for your husband's reasons (that's a bit paranoid) but just because i'm a hermit.
is there a back yard?
khairete
S.

things to consider: 1. how much traffic is REALLY going down this "main road" it could just be a perception and NOT a reality 2. What kind of traffic? Is it only your neighbors because the subdivision ends in a bunch of dead ends? 3. You can use it to your advantage in negotiating the price of the home.

I think your husband is being paranoid and picky because I don't see any reality or fact backing up his specific claim. Guess what? around 7 - 8 am and 5 - 6 pm every road is busy because people are coming home from work. Event the people on the end of a cul-de-sac.
Take it with a grain of salt, really look at the traffic patterns in the neighborhood. I live on a "busy" street, but it is only "busy" during peak commuter times. Other than that, pretty dead:)

it is the recommendation of a realtor I worked with to check out homes and neighborhoods at various hours and days of the week. if you all haven't, I'd encourage you to do so.

Best of luck.

Nope, wouldn't buy it. I lived in a house that was on a main road and the speed limit was 35. Of course everyone did 45 +. It was so hard to pull out of the driveway in the mornings to get to work.

I took a long time to pick this house. I didn't want a school, church, or community center. My location is perfect for me and I couldn't be more happy.

It all depends on the neighborhood. If people park in the road, then you don't want to live on that street. If there are rules against allowing parking in the road, then that helps. If you have little kids, living on a cul-de-sac is so much nicer. Then there is much less chance of your kids getting hurt.

My house is on a main road in our development, (not a main residential road, but the main road of the development, just to make sure we're clear about that) but cars are not supposed to be parked there - it's again the homeowner's rules. However, during graduation weekend, a gal parked her car on the side of the street and spent the night. A car full of teens came careening down the road and slammed into 2 trees and hit her car. One of the teens died. It happened in front of my house and my neighbor's house, and we had lived there a total of 3 days. It was truly terrible. So your husband is right that sometimes this happens.

However, my particular neighborhood is a lovely place and it does not hurt the property values to live on that road. You should do a little research to see if houses off that road sell better than the house on the main road. I would recommend that you don't buy a corner lot, regardless. Corner lots usually are a lot louder and usually take longer to sell. What you'd make up in a bigger lot, you'd lose in the nuisance factor.

Good luck!
Dawn

Don't do it! Speaking as one who lives on the main entrance road of the subdivision and the one next to it. It's horrible especially because the 1st set of speed bumps are right between our house and our neighbors, think tires squealing at 2 am in front of your bedroom windows. It's more the traffic noise and lines of traffic in and out for school that bug me. People do go wayyy to fast up and down the street, we're the 3rd house in from a lighted intersection. My kids are only allowed to play in the front yard if there is adult supervision. We have a very large backyard so it's only when they want to ride bikes and scooters or do chalk on the driveway anyway. But I still wouldn't do it.

No. I don't want that much traffic in front of my house. That was one thing on my house shopping list I wouldn't budge on Isd being on the main road. I have friends who did not think about this and now regret it. They say parking in front of their house is limited and risky. So it confirmed my choice.

The flip slide of that is we ended up buying one in the front of the subdivision but on a cul-de-sac. We get no trick or treaters at Halloween, or things like that.

I agree with your hubby. I like house gatherings too much to live on any street where my guests cannot easily park.

No, I would NOT buy it. We lived on main roads for our first two homes. The traffic, the noise, the sirens (lived down the street from a hospital and around the corner from a fire department), someone playing their music too loud as they go down the road and the thump, thump, thump from the bass (gives me migranes), people plowing into the front yard (drunk or weather related-slippery, icy or wet roads actually happened to me). I could go on, but you get the idea. I hated it and when we bought our house, I didn't want it either. We live on a cul-de-sac but our house backs up to a busy road. The wall blocks some traffic noise but not all of it. Also, there is a railroad track about a mile away but we can still hear the whistle at night.

Our old house was on a fairly busy street (emergency snow route). We had a fenced backyard, so our kids always played out there. We rarely played in the front yard for that reason.
Now we live in another house that lives just off the main street of our neighborhood. We do not have a fenced backyard and all of our neighbors tend to play in the front anyway. I was nervous at first because people can come speeding along every now and then, even though our street isn't as busy. My kids (ages 3.5 and 5) are really good about staying on the sidewalk and yard, but they are not outside without me or another adult at this point.
I would say if the home has a fence for the backyard or your plan to fence then it shouldn't be a huge factor. You may want to think about traffic noise though. My mom lived behind a main road that was pretty busy at different parts of the day and she said she would never live in a home like that again because it was so much noise she didn't anticipate.
Good luck!
A.
I would say

We brought our home and its near the "main road". We was debating on this house(by the main road) or a home that was a forecloser. The forecloser was around 25,000 cheaper but needed some work.It was a nice home off on a dead road,safe for the kids to play but we didn't get good phone service out there. The home we brought was a brand new home that was supposed to be a "show house home". The guy that sold to us said that he would also threw in a chain link fence in the backyard for the kids. He was worried about the kids on the main highway thinking/worried about them getting hurt or killed on the main highway by cars or 18 wheelers. One thing my husband and I had to think was the pros and cons on the two homes. Of course i didn't like the house we brought b/c it was on the main highway and worried about my kids and so forth. But our kids play in the backyard and not the front yard. Our home is CLOSER to the kids schools,husband work and to all the main stores.Less than 5 minutes away actually.lol. Our home in on the main highway that ALOT of 18 wheelers travel on to get to the local papermill in our city. At night its not that much traffic.