Will the Wading River cell phone tower affect your property value?

There is a proposal to erect a 100’ cell phone tower on the property of St. John’s Church in Wading River. The tower would be built by Verizon and would significantly improve the “Dead Zone” in our area, especially as we go North closer to the Sound.

This proposal has raised much controversy with the local residence. Many of the residence would like to preserve the character of our historic community. They feel like it will stick out like a sore thumb. Other concerns are health issues and the possibility of decreased property values.

Although there is no concrete proof that health problems exist from cell towers, it is perceived that there could be an issue of health safety. Also there is a pre-school behind St. John’s. Besides the health issue, the tower fall zone could overlap the back entrance to the building.

I have been a Realtor for over 17 years and I can tell you that aesthetics are extremely important to buyers. Many buyers will not buy a home on a busy road, near power lines or where cell, water, or broadcasting towers are in view. Some will make lower offers because of their personal perception. Their perception therefore becomes a reality to them.

How will a cell phone tower affect your property value? There have been many studies. Some surveys show that it will not decrease the value because we all want cell service. Other studies say that it could decrease property values anywhere from 3% to 24%. A study in Florida was conducted and it showed that the closer the property was to a cell tower, the greater the decrease in price. This study eliminated areas around Interstate 4 so that noise from traffic was not a factor. Other considerations were lot size, interior square footage and age of homes that sold. There was also an extensive study conducted by Bond & Wang. That was based on 4283 property sales in four suburbs of Christchurch, a town in New Zealand. This study was also controversial.