A property investor has based their decision to buy a property on the findings of NoiseNet's property monitoring results. They will have happier tenants as a result - and earn superior returns.
The investors were looking to buy property in Brisbane's Southern Suburbs (having rejected Sydney and Brisbane due to low yields). They narrowed their choice to 3 properties of similar price and with similar rental yields.
Taking advantage of a free-trial offered by NoiseNet, we monitored noise at each property for between 2 and 7 days. The results were compelling:
Property 1 had a late night barking dog and property 3 had loud & troublesome neighbours. For an investment property, these noise levels will affect the happiness of your tenants and the likelihood that they will renew. Each change of tenants costs the equivalent of 1 month of rent (more than the rental yield on the property). If you don't think noise is important for an investment property - think again.
The Details:
Property 1: Noise rating: 3.1 (3.1/3.2/3.0) - representing relative noise levels between 1-very quiet and 5-extremely loud during the (day/evening/night). The noise profile was mixed with Dogs, Birds, Traffic, Music and People Noises. Notably the noise levels at night were high - with a nearby dog periodically barking throughout the night.
Property 2: Ratings 2.6 (2.7/2.6/2.0) - measurably quieter than Property 1, and particularly at night. Predominant noises were Traffic, Birds, and traces of people noises and aircraft. This is a mid-range noisy house, typical of inner-mid suburbs, but not close to major roads, flightpaths etc.
Property 3: Rating 2.9 (2.2/2.8/3.0) - the quietest during the day, but loud in the evening and at night. The main noises were traffic, music, people noises. However the most significant issue was in the evening and at night with some noises classified as people noises, yelling, breaking glass (which were common during the evening and night).