When signing a contract, a buyer is not just purchasing a home but inheriting its surroundings, and that can have an impact on the property value and its time on the market when it comes time to sell.
There are some relatively universal standards for structures and characteristics that either detract or add to the value of a piece of real estate: Proximity to schools typically ups the attractiveness of a house; a neighboring landfill might do the opposite.
But because La Plata County’s demographics and housing demands are so diverse, the rules are not so steadfast. One property owner’s blight can be another’s asset, according to local real estate agents and appraisers who say some buyer requests defy the norm.
“The river and the train run side by side, which is considered an adverse market effect, but you see people buying properties close to it because it’s a unique railroad system,” Peter Sakadinsky with Appraisal Express said. “It defies logic, but you get some railroad enthusiasts wanting to be near the railroad.”
Keller Williams broker Samantha Gallant moved to Durango from the Oakland County area in Michigan in 2000 and was surprised by the starkly different dynamic in La Plata County.
“There’s always impact, but the effect varies from person to person,” Gallant said. “You can have a very expensive home next to a manufactured home on County Road 250. You can also have a property like one that sold in Ignacio, where one guy said it looked like a junk station – the driveway wasn’t even redone. But one buyer didn’t care, and I sold it close to full price. It varies so dramatically.”
The blocks near downtown Durango are a mix of old houses and new construction. In areas beyond Durango city limits, such as on County Road 203, mobile home parks intermingle with high-end neighborhoods and stick-built homes.
“I think we maybe value our identity a little more in Durango and know it is a demographically diverse population, and so that just is not as big an issue,” Wells Group Realtor Don Ricedorff said. “When I worked in California, it was all consistency, and you’d never see that.”
Still, the obvious deterrents and attractions of a property apply to La Plata County home buyers.
Real estate agents name gravel pits, gas wells, landfills and highway proximity as the most common negatives, with exceptions. In La Plata County, the draw of a mountain or river view can in some cases outweigh eyesores and noise pollutants.
“With something like gravel pits, the buyer has to wonder what kind of truck traffic there might be and what kind of noise there will be, and having said that, if you look out in the Animas Valley, near Dalton Ranch, there are homes near two gravel pits, which doesn’t affect values,” said Coldwell Banker broker Gina Piccoli.
Academic studies examining structural impacts on property values commonly present empirical evidence and don’t offer definitive answers. One inconclusive analysis conducted by the University of New Hampshire on the correlation between landfills and property values found minimal impact in most cases but suggested the effects vary by location.
Natural gas wells are also a mixed bag; brokers say some buyers, sometimes ones that work in the gas industry, who don’t care. Other buyers immediately write off properties with an existing or potential gas well in the backyard, particularly if the infrastructure is visible.
“Generally, if it’s visible or creates an unusual noise, it will have a negative impact on value,” Sakadinsky said, referencing a gas plant on County Road 307. “It’s called an incurable functional obsolescence. We see that a lot on the mesa.”
A neighbor’s yard can also stand in the way of a transaction.
“I have a listing on County Road 228, and the guy next to it has a lot of stuff, and it has had a direct impact on selling it,” Gallant said.
Lots that back up to Bureau of Land Management or San Juan National Forest lands sell faster, although the price variations between La Plata County’s custom-built homes render it difficult to place an exact dollar amount on how much a home with a view is actually worth.
Riverside locations, mountain views and closeness to the country are demands real estate agents across the board tend to hear, at least until the prospective buyers realize the extra cost associated with those luxuries.
But residents’ tastes change.
Years ago, Piccoli had two clients, a couple, who owned a pastoral piece of property near Bayfield with plans to build a house upon retirement.
Mid-design, the downtown condo they were renting grew on them. They ended up abandoning plans for their country dream home, selling the lot and their cars and buying a place within walking distance to downtown Durango.
“What buyers think they want,” Piccoli said, “might end up being different.”
jpace@durangoherald.com.
