Cell Towers Can Cut Your Home's Value by Up to 7.6%

Homes within direct line of sight of a cell tower sell at a measurable discount—and in some markets, that discount reaches 7.6%. That's not a neighborhood rumor. It comes from sales data, academic research, and active broker experience documented in a July 2026 Realtor.com report on the widening conflict over cell tower siting across the country.

The discount isn't uniform, and it isn't permanent. But if you're planning to sell a property near a tower—or near a proposed one—understanding exactly how the math works is the difference between pricing confidently and leaving money on the table.

The Numbers: What the Discount Looks Like Street by Street

Levi Rodgers, CEO of LRG Realty in San Antonio, recently handled a sale roughly 200 feet from a cell tower that local residents were actively fighting. The home sold within 21 days—so it moved. But the final price came in at about 96% of what comparable homes on the same street commanded. That's a 4% haircut, and it happened in a strong market with an active buyer pool.

Rodgers puts the typical range for his San Antonio market at 2% to 4% for homes within approximately 500 feet that have a clear view of the structure. Academic research out of Savannah, Georgia, found discounts climbing as high as 7.6% for homes closest to towers, with the measurable price effect fading out entirely at around 1,500 feet.

Two variables drive most of the impact: distance and visibility. A tower that looms over a backyard fence hits differently than one partially screened by mature trees, neighboring rooftlines, or a block of commercial buildings. Rodgers notes that once a tower is substantially obscured, the pricing effect becomes difficult to detect at all. That distinction matters enormously for how you present a property and where you set the ask.

Proposed Towers Create a Different Kind of Risk

A tower already standing is a known quantity. Buyers can see it, price it in, and decide. A tower that's been proposed—but is tied up in local permitting battles or litigation—creates something murkier: uncertainty. And uncertainty is what kills deals at full price.

The conflict unfolding in Nissequogue, a small village on Long Island's North Shore, illustrates this cleanly. A telecommunications company wants to erect a 140-foot tower on the grounds of the Knox School, overlooking Stony Brook Harbor. The local planning board denied the necessary permit in April 2026, citing inconsistencies in the proposal. The company filed suit the following month, arguing no feasible alternative site exists. The dispute is now in court, with no clear resolution timeline.

For homeowners within sight of that proposed site, the situation is genuinely difficult to price around. A buyer's attorney will flag the litigation. A buyer's agent will mention it during the walkthrough. The seller doesn't control the outcome—but they do control how prepared they are to discuss it honestly and frame what the current reality looks like versus a worst-case scenario.

A similar story played out in Conroe, Texas, where a proposed 160-foot tower—designed to look like a pine tree—was rejected by the city council in February 2026 after nearby homeowners objected. The camouflage design didn't neutralize the opposition. Height matters more than aesthetics to most neighbors.

What Sellers Near Towers Should Do Before Listing

If your home sits within 1,500 feet of an existing tower, start with a visual audit. Walk the property from every angle a buyer would see during a showing. If the tower is visible from the backyard, the main bedroom window, or the street approach, document what obscures it—mature trees, fencing, structures—and photograph those screens. Sightline mitigation is real and defensible in pricing conversations.

Pull your own comps tightly. The 2% to 7.6% discount range is wide because local markets vary. You need sales data from your specific submarket, not national averages. Ask your agent to isolate sales within 500 feet of similar infrastructure in your area over the past 18 months. If your market shows a consistent 3% discount, price with that in mind rather than discovering it during negotiation.

Disclosure matters here. Most states require sellers to disclose known material facts that affect property value. A cell tower within clear view of the home qualifies as something a reasonable buyer would want to know. Disclosing it upfront, with context, positions you as a straight shooter and removes it as a negotiating weapon for the buyer later.

If a tower has been proposed but not yet built near your property, check the local planning board record. Is it approved, denied, or in litigation? The status changes your disclosure obligation and your pricing strategy. A denied proposal with an active lawsuit is not the same as an approved permit with a construction start date. Know which situation you're actually in.

For sellers who want a clean baseline on what their property is worth right now—tower and all—an instant offer gives you a floor. It's not a ceiling, but knowing your floor before you list removes the anxiety of negotiating from a position of incomplete information.

The Broader Trend Sellers Should Track

Demand for wireless coverage is not declining. The telecommunications buildout that began accelerating under the 1996 Telecommunications Act has continued in every subsequent decade, and 5G infrastructure requirements mean more tower proposals, not fewer. Communities have meaningful—but limited—authority to reject or modify placement. Federal law constrains how far local governments can go in blocking service outright.

That means the number of homes within 1,500 feet of a cell tower will grow over time. The sellers who handle this cleanly are the ones who do the pricing homework, make accurate disclosures, and use visibility data to tell a specific story about their specific property—rather than letting a buyer's vague anxiety about towers drive the negotiation.