By admin 
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — The FAA is considering changes to the arrival and departure flight paths at 10 of the Valley’s airports to improve safety and efficiency, but homeowners could pay the price in property values.
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“It is a large number,” said Jono Oates, who co-founded MyFlightPath.com, an online tool that maps aircraft noise by address.
Oates says a large number of users from the Phoenix area started using their website to look at the impact of aircraft noise at different addresses, prompting them to study the area as a whole.
MyFlightPath.com found that eight out of 11 Valley ZIP codes they studied will see higher noise levels under the new flight paths and lower property values, anywhere from $7,000 to $23,000 per home, based on volume, altitude and types of aircraft, along with other data points.
They cross-referenced those findings with a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, which suggests that every one-decibel increase in noise can lower house prices by 0.6% to 1%.
In total, the potential losses in property values combined could range from $1.07 billion to $1.79 billion if the flight path changes as proposed take place.
“When we looked into this in more detail, we were pretty amazed, actually, as to the situation that the Phoenicians are dealing with on a day-to-day basis now with overflight, but also could be dealing with in the future,” Oates said.
The is happening now as aviation forecasts suggest air traffic will continue to increase, reinforcing the need to modernize the system to enhance safety.
The FAA says that safety and efficiency are the primary considerations when designing flight procedures, but the agency also says it considers noise along with other factors.
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“It deters lots of buyers because their home is a place where they want peacefulness,” Jeff Sibbach, a Valley-based realtor with eXp Realty, said.
Sibbach has seen firsthand how noise from planes, trains or cars can drive down home value over his career.
“Because of house prices where they are, I mean, it doesn’t surprise me that there’s that huge of an impact,” said Sibbach.
Both Sibbach and Oates suggest doing research on noise impacts before buying a home.
“It’s quite often the biggest investment that any of us really ever make. So it’s important that you get everything right,” Oates said.
The FAA is accepting public comment on this process through the end of June:
To submit comments, email [email protected] or mail to:
Phoenix Area FAA Modernization
Operations Support Group
FAA-ATO Central Service Center AJV C-250
10101 Hillwood Parkway
Fort Worth, TX 76177
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