Abstract
Traffic noise is one of the key determinants of apartment prices. The real estate market is highly sensitive to adverse environmental factors, which explains significant variations in apartment prices. The aim of this study was to identify the correlations between traffic noise levels and the prices of apartments traded on a local real estate market. The study analyzed three residential districts in the city of Olsztyn in north-eastern Poland. The database covered 5259 transactions concluded in 2005–2018. The collected data were standardized in terms of technical and functional parameters, and noise was the key factor differentiating the evaluated property. The relationships between the explained variable (apartment price) and the explanatory variable (traffic noise) were determined by linear correlation analysis. A negative correlation was noted, which confirms that a building’s location relative to the road network and, consequently, the level of traffic noise, is one of the factors that play a role in the potential buyers’ choice of property. The results of the study also indicate that the impact of traffic noise on the decisions made by real estate buyers continued to decrease in the analyzed period. Infrastructure projects in the city (construction of tramway lines and a ring road) have visibly reversed the previously observed trends and have decreased the strength of the above correlations in the evaluated residential districts. The values of the correlation coefficient were stabilized below the level noted in earlier stages of the analysis after the completion of the major infrastructure projects.
Highlights
Introduction and Research ObjectiveLandscape and its components are the objects of study in many branches of science
The aim of the study was to identify the correlations between noise and real estate prices in an urban area
Acoustic discomfort cannot be fully eliminated in urban areas, but noise levels vary in different locations and, influence property prices
Summary
Introduction and Research ObjectiveLandscape and its components are the objects of study in many branches of science. Landscapes are continuously transformed by the forces of nature and human activity [1]. This is not a correct interpretation because these terms have a much broader definition. A landscape is composed of many layers (landform, water bodies, vegetation, etc.), and it is the composition and perceptions of these layers that form a landscape. The individual layers do not constitute an integral landscape [2]. In 1977, Schafer introduced the concept of “soundscape” which is used to complement visual perceptions of a landscape [5,6,7,8]
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