I couldn't find a Poll tool on this forum, so forgive me for using a regular post if you have one.

In comparing two side by side parcels with ponds that are otherwise the same, with the exception that Property A is vacant except for the pond and Property B has a residence, would a pond add greater value to the one with the residence? Please choose one of these answers:

1. Yes, the pond would add more value to the property with the residence. For example, with a residence, the pond would add $20,000 to the value of Property B, but only $10,000 to Property A because it is vacant.
2. No, the pond would add about the same value to either property. For example, both Property A and B would be worth $20,000 more because of the pond.
3. No, the pond would add less value to the property with the residence. For example, Property A, the vacant parcel, the pond would add $20,000 to the value but only $10,000 to the value of Property B that has the residence.

Thank you
Nancy

Nancy, It's not quite that cut and dried. Like all things here, it all depends on the area. In dry areas, like most places that we hear about on the news in California, a pond increases value.

However I have heard of people who got great buys on property because the pond(s) decreased useable acreage. That would be mostly in farming areas and in areas of extensive rainfall. Like most things, it is determined my the scarcity and perceived value of a feature.

Thanks, Dave - I appreciate the thoughts. Any good appraiser will understand the term "it depends."

If the two properties were otherwise the same except for the presence of the home, (same size, same shape, same location, same pool of buyers and sellers), would you put a higher, lower, or similar "pond premium" for the property with the home?

No added value in MI. One thing tho is if you are in a remote area is you probably could get a discount on your homeowners insurance because of the water source available for fighting fires.

As far as I know around here, they add no real value unless someone really want's your place and is willing to pay what you think it might be worth. Now a Lake is a different story if a developer is interested.

I would think a nice pond would increase the value. Maybe even higher without a residence. As a builder I can build a nice 3000 sqft house in 5 months. It takes 2-3 years to build a nice functional, balanced pond, no matter how much money you have to put into it. To me, the build cost is the base price to the value of a pond. If the pond is in bad shape then you would subtract value accordingly, but if you have a balanced eco system already in place...how much is three years of ecosystem worth?

Good points - thank you!

Nancy, you are catching on to "it depends" theme!

It depends on whether the person wants the pond or not. When I was looking at a house out in So. Cal., I didn't want a pool, so a house with a pool would be less value to me.

In a desert community, if the pond were to keep itself filled, and I could use the water from it to irrigate without seeing an increase in my water bill, it'd be priceless! In Oceanside, water usage was tied to the sewer rate, so if I used 1,000 gallons to water my lawn, I was still charged a corresponding amount of $$ in the sewer rate part of the water bill.

I think that if the pond was in good condition, and didn't have issues where it'd cost $$$$ to fix then #2 would apply.

If it was in disrepair, i.e. would cost $$$$ to fix, then it would be #4, it would detract $20,000.00 from the property value, without a residence, and maybe even more if the residence had a nicely landscaped yard that would be torn up in the pond fixing process.

Pondds that are in bad enough disrepair that they need dirt work to fix, can cost about the same as having a new one dug.

Nancy, thanks for your 3 posts/questions. These are intriguing questions for all of us. As an Appraiser, you obviously understand that value is generally perceived by location and need/desire.

I once jokingly offered a friend in Southeast Texas $100,000 for his free flowing artesian well if he would drag it up to my place in North Central Texas. He told me that, since we were friends and he had 3 more on his property, he could cut me a better deal if I would pay for the shipping.

In his case, the darn thing was a detraction from value but on my place it would be priceless.

Due to our continuing drought in North Texas, my 1.5 acre pond recently turned into a 1/4 acre mosquito ridden mud hole with a couple of fish remaining. We FINALLY got a dang good rain that partially filled it and I will restock($) next Spring. But it will be quite a few years before I have a really good fishing hole that adds value. It would certainly not be considered much of an asset. A spring fed creek, full of fish, and originating on a neighbors land dried up along with the downstream creek on my land. It will be a lot of years before the spring regenerates itself. Certainly no longer much of an asset there.

Thanks everyone for your responses. For the record, I posted a similar question on two appraiser forums that I subscribe to and got seventy different opinions there!

I will be posting some pond data/ appraisal data later this weekend that I found for the assignment I'm working on. Please review it and provide it to your appraisers when they come to value your ponds!

Thank you
Nancy

Another thing of note is just like good landscaping vs. bad landscaping. If the pond is positioned in such a way that it adds beauty to the view from the home, it will add value. If it is stuck in a back corner someplace, or otherwise inconvenient location, it will detract or do nothing.

On another note: If an avid fisherman were to be house shopping, and came across a well stocked pond with large fish... who knows what that will pull! Considering some of these fisherman think little of dropping 10K+ on a boat purely for fishing, it says a lot about the type of person you can sell a home with a pond to.

Also it may be worth spending some money on a pond if it can be a reasonable asset before putting it on the market. Say it is overgrown with weeds and algae. Give it a *proper* treatment to knock down the weeds so it appears better, and will be worth more... just like a fresh coat of paint.

Here is a similar thread in the Garden Web forum, some surprising first hand accounts.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/realestate/msg011545149340.html?20

Interesting. I wonder if that has changed since early 2012 (when those replies were made)?

I would not hazard a guess for other areas in the country, but I read that thread and it's all in line with what's in place in MI.

A pond adds absolutely no value to a property except for the fact that you have a water source available (if close enough) for fighting fires, and could get a break on homeowners insurance. We did check into this, and that's what it is.

I have been looking for property with an established pond. Big problem up here tho, if it's on the map, probably classified as a wetland already and can't do a darn thing with it. The two closest ponds (farm ponds) near my property in Fremont are classified as wetlands, so the property has no value, unless you find a sucker

That "sucker" who happens to love this type of situation is going to be able to get himself a very good deal. Sucker wins…

Randy,
If it's an established wetland up here, Good Luck!!!

You'll be paying property taxes on property you really don't own, even if it is in the deed.

You won't be able to do anything with it unless the Powers that Be give you a thumbs up. (get it in writing)

Sucker is the big looser!

Simply put, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!!

What about how a pond relates to neighboring houses? Adds value or not? Others can view the pond every day with out worrying about taking care of it! Sounds like a nice deal to me, until the neighbor starts not taking care of it. How about lakefront property, that's always more expensive. Pond views might be the next in line for someone who can't afford lakefront.

I think the property is worth more, and let the prospective buyer haggle the price down( by doing his homework as to what is wrong with the pond), just like something else in a house that needs repair.

How about in JKB situation. Might be pretty tough to build a pond if all the areas good for pond building are "off limits" by protection of wetlands. Might come a day where none of us can build a pond, just have to find one built. Sounds like a "priced by demand".

So much to consider......

That is true. I remembered earlier today that a guy at work bought a 40 acre parcel that's almost all wetlands for practically nothing. He wanted it for deer hunting and to escape the zoo.

He built a small basic cabin on it for weekend getaways and such. One thing he did not realize at the time when he purchased this, is the property is smack dab in the middle of one of the worst red neck areas in MI you could possibly find. He's had no end of trouble with the locals that he won't even go there anymore.

When he told me this about this time last year, I just said, "welcome to the jungle" and being a property owner north of M46. He was in a really bad area tho. My brother bought some property on a lake up in that area. Put a double wide on it, built a little shop. After living up there for a couple years, the neighbors torched it while he was at my parents house in GR. I was there when he got the call. He said he was afraid something was going to happen. Those crazy people! (I could tell you what he really said, but that would be banned camp for sure) Anyway, he split after that.

I looked at some property about 10 years ago. I thought it would be a good investment. It had road frontage on 2 sides, a fairly new mobile home, electricity and a good well. The price was certainly right. Then I drove down the road and found it to be a dead end. There was what looked like a scene out of the movie Deliverance. There were 2 ratty mobile homes, 6 or 7 guys standing around, and some mangy dogs. I passed.

Neighbors can certainly make a difference.

We would sell today for $2,000,000. Potential buyers on our A list aren't prepared to pay that much. Would they Pay $1,000,000? We don't care.

Un-willing seller and willing buyer; wrong price! It takes all three.

One can really never know what property values will do. What we called "junk" ground several years ago would only go for $300-400/acre. My uncle once got 16 acres for the back taxes of $80. Now, because of deer hunting, that "junk" ground is commanding almost as much as good farmland.

When I was preparing to retire from the Air Force about 20 years ago I thought I'd try a different career and went to real estate appraisal school. Before retirement rolled around the offers from telecom were overwhelming, so I stayed in the telecom biz. The couple of things I remember is that one of the most important components of the appraisal are recent sales of comparable properties,aka "comps". When I bought my current pond property 2 years ago the appraisal had no mention of the pond other than to show it on the survey. I talked to the appraiser and he said there were no comps available for private farm ponds. For lake front communities there are comps for lake front as well as off off-lake lots with deeded lake access. This appraiser did say that for outbuildings he uses depreciated construction costs to include substantial improvements. I think it's a factor that here in Georgia, the tax records reflect improvements i.e. wells, septic tanks and outbuildings but not ponds. I think if they don't make this effort, it's a sign of laziness.