Would a house which has average 5 cars during peak times go past it a minute put you off or be any concern?

[question2025]

Have found a house which ticks every box but it is on one of the entry / exit road to the estate. The estate has two roads in and out and the house is in the quieter one. There seems to be around 5 cars a minute during peak periods in the morning and at night. During the day it seems to drop to 2-3 cars and I have yet to visit after 7 or 8 clock at night to see. There is a bus every 30 mins which goes past

The house has a very small bit in front and then a hedge , followed by footpath and road.

It is in an area where you would struggle to do more than 20mph due to the road curves.

Would this traffic put you off from a noise or pollution point or is it minimal?

Not much else has come up which we love so much but do not want any risk to health.

I'd say we can have that during rush hour but it's not constant, even in the rush hours and can be very quiet, especially at night.

If it was constant at that rate then yes, it might put me off.

Personally I wouldn't, that seems quite busy

That would be too busy a road for me, but I live in a very quiet cul-de-sac. Wouldn't even view a house on a main road like that.

I have never counted how many cars go past my house, doesn't matter to me. So it wouldn't put me off, especially as it's only peak times. What matters more to me is the speed!

The cars also never queue they can move through freely

No, we have several times that at peak and queues when there is an issue on nearby roads.

When buying a house, it is always a balance - I doubt if many people can match their budget to a "perfect house" with no compromises.

Out road is FAR busier than that, and we don't have a garden and a hedge in front. We've been very happy here for the last 25 years. The fact some people don't like the idea meant that we were able to afford a MUCH bigger house than others we looked at in much quieter roads. For us, getting the extra space has been 100% the right decision for our circumstances. Other people will make different choices.

Every house has a compromise. We moved from a very quiet location and now live by a busier road (only at peak times otherwise cars are minimal from 7.30pm). But, the house is big with a lovely garden. Would I move next to a dual carriage way? No.

Everything definitely has a comprise.

The other challenge is picking what the best available is once you have sold. We have seen a few nice houses but the time we have sold they have gone! And if we take forever looking for perfect which might not exist we are at risk of losing the buyers

Personally no. Think of the summer with the windows open or the extra noise when it rains.

I would, but I was perfectly happy in a flat directly next to a busy dual carriageway and no double glazing! It drove my husband demented though and everywhere we have lived since has needed to be on the quietest road possible.

Unless you have loads of money, you’ll always have to compromise somewhere, whether that’s location, space, build quality, decoration, situation, proximity to amenities etc.

We’re buying a house and are upsizing. We are gaining space and character. We are losing location (also on a busy road). We’re fine with that as whilst I like the quiet to an extent, I’m a homebody (not garden) so won’t be affected as much as someone who loves being outside and in the country.

Are you getting enough positives to outweigh the negatives?

Is it the best property you’re going to be able to afford?

If yes - then I’d go for it.

You’ll get the feeling. Once you’ve seen enough, when you view the right house, you’ll just know. It’ll feel like home.

Thats always been the case for me anyway in 5 house moves. I’ve never settled, I’ve always fallen in love with the house. Just be realistic about what your budget can afford.

Blimey, 5 cars a minute would be quiet where I am. I live on a main road and they're constant at peak times - nose to tail. Having said that, we no longer notice the traffic noise, unless it's warmer weather and some twat has their radio blaring with windows open. I've always said that if I ever move house I wouldn't live on such a busy road again.

Sounds fine to me! Also which rooms look out over the road? Main bedroom? Lounge or kitchen? That makes some difference to me. I had a kitchen look out over a quite busy road which I didn't mind at all. I would have been less keen if it had been my main living area or my bedroom (traffic was all day).

I live in an estate where most of the houses have a tiny front strip of hedge and then a narrow pavement and road. The pavements are parked on. I wouldn't want to live in one of those houses with people driving past my front door. If it wasn't the main road in and out it might be ok.

I'm on one of 2 access roads to my development (5000 homes!), it gets a bit busy in the morning and again for school run then late afternoon (it's more strung out in the evening but not as busy as morning consequently) but otherwise fine, have good double glazing

We have more walkers and dogs than that! If you've double glazing, and the garden is away from the road. I guess it depends what you're used to!

Ours is about five cars a minute at peak times, we have a primary school nearby too so it’s more like 100 or so for 10 minutes at 8.30 and 3pm! It’s very little hassle and drops off to more like five cars an hour by 8pm. We live on the edge of a country town though so everything is dead by 8pm 😂 maybe different if the road is in a more built up, bigger town or city.

I live near a school (road next to it) and main road in our neighbourhood. We’ve git our garden , then the pavement and then garden again. So it doesn’t put me off your scenario

I am on a main road in Zone 3, front garden set back but not hugely so. We have all got so used to the noise and we bought a huge Victorian semi with a massive garden, 8mins walk from the tube. East London. I think being a born b bred Londoner that traffic noise doesn’t bother me, but I can imagine it would be really disruptive if I had grown up rurally.

20’s no (lived in London).

30’s yes (children).

40’s yes (children).

50’s now no. DC at Uni and I am free most of the time to do what I want. But, I can travel to seclusion whenever I want now too. The pollution would bother me when I had children at home. Look up the pollution levels.

Thanks everyone really appreciate peoples thoughts on this.

Ours is busy at rush hour, so similar traffic levels. But rush hour where I live is short. 8 to 9 and 5 to 6. But very quiet the rest of the time. What gets me more is sirens up the main road that we are just off. As they are random. 5 years in I’m more used to it.

Will there be much noise inside a house which was built in last 20 years? We didn't hear anything when looking round it might have been a dead period