Chat Plus

Real estate editor Maryann Haggerty and columnist Elizabeth Razzi respond to a question adapted from a recent online chat.

Q Silver Spring: Our home is about three-fourths of a mile from the Capital Beltway. Sometimes we can hear the Beltway, sometimes we can't. Why is this? Could this hurt our resale value? Oddly, we couldn't hear the Beltway before we bought the place last summer, and we spent a lot of time checking to make sure of that. Would more trees in our front yard help muffle the noise?

A Maryann Haggerty: If you bought the house in the summer, there probably were leaves on all the trees in the neighborhood. That makes a big difference in soaking up highway sound. Planting more trees in your own yard would help. Consider evergreens for year-round noise reduction.

Elizabeth Razzi: I've noticed that traffic sounds are louder when there's low cloud cover. There's not much you can do about the skies, but maybe you would find your garden more enjoyable if you installed a small fountain to help mask the noise. If you find it disturbing indoors, upgrading to better-insulated windows would be an expensive, but very effective approach. Your resale value shouldn't be affected by the occasional hum of traffic. You wouldn't have to disclose such noise to potential buyers; it's not as if the location of the Beltway is a secret.

M.H.: There are plenty of studies showing that ambient noise increases stress levels and is otherwise unhealthy. Still, you may get used to it. Both of us spent a lot of time in childhood in homes very close to railroad tracks, and we both find nighttime train noise more soothing than irritating.

The next Real Estate Live chat will be at 1 p.m. March 7.