Is buying on a main road a deal breaker for you? It shouldn’t be

Jeff and Amanda Wecker have both lived on main roads their entire lives. Mr Wecker grew up on Wynnum Road and Mrs Wecker on Cavendish Road at Coorparoo.

The pair bought a home together on another busy road in Brisbane’s south and say they’re part of a minority of homeowners who would even consider it.

“I think a lot of people like the idea of living in a quiet cul-de-sac but I think life changes very quickly if something in their locality changes,” Mr Wecker said. “They worry about things about of their control.”

The benefits far outweighed the negatives, according to the Weckers. “People ask the question, does it matter? And you just go ‘nope’,” Mr Wecker said.  

The main issue with naysayers was the noise, which Mrs Wecker said she never heard.

“Not inside the house you don’t,” she said. Mr Wecker added: “It’s only when you hear a fire engine, or an ambulance, or a police car you notice.”

Even out in the yard or with the windows flung open, the Weckers denied noise was an issue.

“It’s really a white noise,” Mrs Wecker said.

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Remax Results‘ Kylee Harnisch is selling a beautiful Queenslander home at Camp Hill, that also happens to be on Old Cleveland Road. She said the effects of road noise were often overstated.

“I think everybody just thinks that main roads are noisy and they are,” Ms Harnisch said. “But where I live, I think the planes are worse.”

Those not willing to live on main roads because of concerns about noise, parking, or any other reason were costing themselves up to $400,000 more to live off a main road, Ms Harnisch said.

“I honestly believe if [530 Old Cleveland Road] was a few streets back you could get $300,000 or $400,000 more,” she said. “People say I can’t believe it’s priced at what it’s at, it’s such a beautiful home.”

Mr Wecker was happy to say he got a bargain for the house he lives in now; $124,000 for the cottage in 2000. “I think you have a smaller pool of people and wider pool of properties,” he said.

“The house that we’re in now, was on the market for six months but it was perfect for us.

“Imagine how many people drive past it every day saying ‘oh we can never buy a house’ when they’ve driven past this place and ignored it.”

The Weckers made their main road home their own and said the potential price difference made little difference to them. “It’s like buying shares, you buy a different shares at different price but they all appreciate in value,” Mr Wecker said.

Ms Harnisch said because it can often be cheaper to buy on a main road, it could offer buyers an opportunity to get into a suburb they’d otherwise be priced out of. 

“It can be a stepping stone to get you into the market,” she said. “For people wanting a big block and close to the city, this house was perfect.”