The National Association of REALTORS Magazine has published “Homeowners Complain About ‘Ugly’ 5G Boxes in Their Yards”
- “Wireless companies are installing boxes in front of homes as part of their 5G network rollout. But homeowners aren’t pleased, calling the chest freezer–sized boxes a big eyesore in their front yards.”
- “The boxes supply power and data to 5G antennas that are placed on utility poles nearby. Homeowners in Houston have been voicing their ire over the “ugly” installations from Verizon. The company is launching its 5G network in that city, and is now headed to its suburbs to install 5G transmission boxes there.”
- “Wireless companies do not need to get permission from homeowners before installing the boxes. They don’t even need to notify them beforehand because the boxes are installed on a public right-of-way. This land is owned by the county, even if it does appear in a person’s front yard.”
Read more at
National Association of REALTORS Magazine “Homeowners Complain About ‘Ugly’ 5G Boxes in Their Yards” January 27, 2021
https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2021/01/27/homeowners-complain-about-ugly-5g-boxes-in-their-yards?
Streamlined 5G buildout puts ‘ground furniture’ in Houston’s front yards https://t.co/je47v706lk
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) January 22, 2021
The realtor industry has written several articles documenting the property devaluation after communication towers are built near property.
Letter to the FCC by the The National Association of REALTORS “5G Could Hurt Property Owners”
The National Association of REALTORS® and other real estate organizations are urging the Federal Communications Commission to heed caution and ensure that its proposal to expand high-speed 5G networks nationwide doesn’t violate property owners’ rights. Read the National Association of REALTORS® Letter
“A coalition of real estate groups, including NAR, the National Multifamily Housing Council, the National Apartment Association, and the Institute of Real Estate Management, among others, submitted a letter to the FCC expressing concern over its proposed rule regarding over-the-air reception devices. The coalition says the rule could make it easier for antennas and other devices to be placed on properties without the owners’ consent. The coalition flagged these two potential issues:
- The rule could allow residential or commercial tenants to install a 5G small cell or other wireless infrastructure on a balcony or within a leased space to boost individual coverage and also transmit a signal to other customers of the telecom provider.
- The rule could allow a telecom carrier who already leases rooftop space from a property owner (for antennas or other equipment) to be able to attach a 5G small cell or other wireless infrastructure on that existing equipment without having to change their agreement with the property owner.
- “The real estate associations strongly support the deployment of broadband infrastructure of all kinds because apartment residents, commercial tenants, and their customers need and want the service that the infrastructure supports,” the coalition wrote in its letter to the FCC. “With the rise of e-commerce, changes in how consumers access media, and our ever-increasing reliance on the Internet for basic functions, broadband connectivity is a top priority for the industry.”
- “The real estate associations believe strongly the marketplace is working, and so we urge the Commission to avoid measures that could prove counterproductive, and thereby harm investment, constrain competition, and limit consumer access to broadband service. We are also concerned that inopportune regulation could raise the cost of developing multifamily housing and commercial real estate.”
- https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/06/24/nar-fcc-s-5g-plan-could-hurt-property-owners
Wireless Towers and Home Values: An Alternative Valuation Approach Using a Spatial Econometric Analysis (Journal of Real Estate Finance & Economics, May 1, 2018)
- For properties located within 0.72 kilometers of the closest tower, results reveal significant social welfare costs with values declining 2.46% on average, and up to 9.78% for homes within tower visibility range compared to homes outside tower visibility range; in aggregate, properties within the 0.72-kilometer band lose over $24 million dollars.
“Impact of Communication Towers and Equipment on Nearby Property Values” prepared by Burgoyne Appraisal Company, March 7, 2017
- “In 32 years of experience as a Real Estate Appraiser specializing in detrimental conditions, takings, adverse impacts and right-of-way, I have found that aesthetics (or rather the adverse impact on aesthetics) of externalities routinely has the largest impact on property values. As a result, proximity to towers of all types (cell, wind turbine, and electric transmission) has an impact on property values. The same is true with all sorts of surface installations such as pump stations and communication equipment boxes. This would apply to new small cell and DAS equipment, although again, one would expect that the less intrusive the facility, the less significant the impact. Small cell and DAS installations can be unsightly, bulky, inconsistent, and even noisy.”
The Cost of Convenience: Estimating the Impact of Communication Antennas on Residential Property Values (Land Economics, Feb. 2016)
- “Re a study on property in Kentucky- “The best estimate of the impact is that a property with a visible antenna located 1,000 feet away sells for 1.82% ($3,342) less than a similar property located 4,500 feet away. The aggregate impact is $10.0 million for properties located within 1,000 feet”
Read more about devaluation of property value from cell antennas here.
