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The widespread damage from Japan’s 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, which then set off a nuclear crisis, may have buyers reconsidering living near a nuclear power plant and have a temporary impact on U.S. home prices in nearby nuclear areas, experts say.
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The chilling images of a melting nuclear reactor in Japan is causing more buyers to take a closer look at how far their new home would be to a nuclear reactor. As such, sellers near towns with nuclear reactors may have a longer wait in finding a buyer and even see their home values drop, Reuters News reports.
“I’d be shocked if this didn’t have a temporary negative effect on selling prices,” says David Clark, professor of economics at Marquette University, who has studied the impact of nuclear power plants on home values. Just how long-lasting the impact will depend on how bad the situation gets in Japan, Clark adds.
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If Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor goes into complete meltdown and releases radiation into the air, he expects buyers in the U.S. will think twice about buying a home near a nuclear reactor and in some areas the impact may drag out awhile. Nuclear power plant areas in Buchanan, N.Y., may see a drop in prices for two to three years after but areas such as Plymouth, Mass., and San Luis Obispo, Calif., may have a longer drop since they fall near earthquake fault lines.
According to Trulia.com, several homes near the Plymouth Nuclear Power station already have experienced price drops.
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Peter G. Miller, founder of the consumer real estate web site ourbroker.com, says he wouldn’t be surprised if states start requiring a disclosure in real estate sales about a home’s distance from a nuclear power plant. California already requires such a disclosure.
Other experts say the impact to real estate values will be temporary and home owners near nuclear power plants shouldn’t be too worried. For example, home prices tumbled following the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear plant incident in Pennsylvania. However, prices stabilized a couple of years later, according to research studies.
Source: “What Happens to Home Values if You Live Near a Nuclear Reactor?” Reuters News (March 18, 2011)
