A variety of things can impact a home’s value. For example, property value may vary based on things like its age, location, renovations or lack thereof, and more.
One thing you might not think to take into account is your neighbors. They, too, can impact the value of a home — especially if one of those neighbors is a sex offender. Many people believe that a sex offender can negatively impact a home’s value. But is that backed up by the numbers?
Here’s what you need to know about that impact:
The Actual Impact of Sex Offenders in a Neighborhood
Studies have shown that sex offenders can have a pretty significant impact on real estate. Living next door to a sex offender could have up to a 12% negative impact on your real estate value. However, it doesn’t just impact people who live next door. Anyone within a 0.1-mile radius may see as much as a 4% drop in real estate value.
The good news is that this impact doesn’t appear to linger. Pretty much as soon as a sex offender moves out, homes in the area bounce right back to market value. Additionally, even with the lower real estate value, homes in the area of a sex offender can still sell — so you’re not necessarily going to have to hold onto a home just because a sex offender lives in the area.
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The Sex Offender Registry
Sex offender registries are controversial in general. But their existence is one of the main reasons for this changing real estate value. Over 750,000 registered sex offenders existed in the United States in fall of 2019; of those, Texas contained the largest number, while Oregon contained the greatest percentage per capita.
One of the main reasons why these registries are so controversial is that sex offenses range significantly in effect, violence and notification requirements. The exact same crime can lead to very different types of punishment depending on the state. However, up to 84% of people on the various sex offender registries are convicted of child molestation or rape.
The Financial Impact of Sex Offenses Across Time
Many parts of the economy see an impact when it comes to sex offenses. A sex offender’s presence can actually have a serious impact on many different things. In fact, some estimates place the victimization costs of sex offenses at about $1 million per case, with all effects combined. That includes the ability of a single offender to reduce property values in their immediate vicinity by up to $5,500 per home.
The concept of a “criminal offender risk index” reinforces this concept even further. 2015 numbers indicate that nationwide ZIP codes with a “very low” risk index category had home values around $512,841, whereas those in “very high” risk index categories had home values around $157,844.
From this, we can conclude that, in general, homes in areas with higher risk of crime (including crimes of all types), tend to have much lower value.
How Can You Protect Yourself Before You Buy a Home?
When you’re trying to determine which home to buy, you need to take into account a huge variety of factors. Sure, you should certainly pay attention to things like the home’s location and the home’s price. However, you also need to know more about the possibility of danger in the home you purchase.
Before you purchase a home, you should make sure you perform an address lookup to see if you can gain more information about your home. You can also try to learn more about your neighbors by performing a background check on the people who live close to you. That way, you’ll feel even safer in your new home.
Conclusion
The presence of a sex offender can certainly impact your home’s value. Whether you’re buying or selling, you want to be mindful of the way in which a home’s value and safety can sustain an impact when a registered sex offender lives nearby.
In addition to learning more about the ways in which PeopleFinders can help you stay safe, make sure you read the PeopleFinders blog for more information about other safety topics in general.
