Triangle Area Real Estate News & Information

North Carolina like many states is currently considering permitting fracking and this should be of major concern to all property owners state-wide.

Regardless of where you might stand on this issue, speaking from the perspective of a Realtor, I can guarantee you that if North Carolina permits fracking property owners can expect to see their properties drop in value regardless if they are immediately impacted or not. The reason I believe this to be true is two-fold. For those in the immediate vicinity of fracking sites, this may be easier to understand as the gas industry will ruin the visible landscape and regardless of what they might wish for you to believe the evidence is extremely convincing that nearby aquifers will become polluted ruining wells, streams, rivers etc. I encourage those who have not yet seen the movie Gasland to watch this movie and hear what those who have already been exposed to the fracking industry have to say about it. Unlike those on the payroll of the gas and fracking industry these folks initially believed what they were told but as time went on, realized that the industry wasn't being honest about the process or the likely side effects of having it in their area. When I watched the movie I found it interesting to note that not one industry insider or speaker was willing to drink the water they were swearing was safe for the public to drink despite numerous offer to do so. Makes one wonder why not.

For those not in the immediate area, the question of why fracking would negatively impact their home's value may not be so evident. I believe allowing fracking will drive property values down statewide as the impact on the environment will directly impact our tourism industry. Millions of people visit our state every year to enjoy our beautiful mountains, stream,s rivers, and coastlines. Around the country areas that have permitted fracking have experienced fish kills in their rivers which have become polluted as a side effect of the fracking process and birds, animals, and forests have begun dying off as a direct result. Additionally there is already a lot of industry discussion around the issues of Insurance and Mortgage lending in areas where fracking is permitted. At the moment the fracking industry has lobbied hard enough to prevent that the Mortgage and Insurance industries have not denied loans or insurance policies based on the proximity to fracking sites, but it's my opinion that it won't be more than another year or two at the most before lenders and insurance companies will either simply refuse to deal with properties in communities where fracking is permitted or will charge higher rates to cover these properties.

Recently I spoke with Renee Maas; Senior Organizer of Food and Water watch here in North Carolina, and she was kind enough to share the following with me.

“Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is a dangerous method of extracting natural gas. Millions of gallons of water, sand and toxic chemicals are injected underground to break up shale rock and release the gas. While conventional fracking has been around for decades, the four new technologies that make up unconventional fracking have only been used since 2007. Unconventional gas development is much more powerful and dangerous than methods used in the past and is causing serious problems across the country.

What You Need To Know About How Fracking Could Affect Real Estate

• Endanger public health: For every new well, millions of gallons of toxic fracking fluid and waste would be trucked through our communities to either be dumped at one of only a few municipal facilities that can accept industrial waste or hauled out of state. Moving this toxic waste over our highways throughout the state puts the public health of our communities at risk.
• Harm our economy: Fracking industrializes rural communities. This will undercut tourism, agriculture, recreation and future economic growth. The fabric of rural communities would be destroyed by air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, marred landscapes and heavy-duty truck traffic. While most fracking jobs are filled by workers from out of state, we would lose agricultural and tourism jobs.
• Do nothing for energy independence: The oil and gas industry is trying to export American gas to Europe and Asia, where prices are higher and they can make more profits. When this gas is gone in the coming decades, we’ll be left with a legacy of polluted water and air, not energy independence.
• Promote North Carolina’s Legacy NOT the oil and gas industry!
• From well leaks to explosions and spills, the oil and gas industry has cut corners on fracking operations, while raking in record profits. There are thousands of cases of water contamination from drilling and fracking in communities across the country. Families breathing the air polluted by drilling and fracking operations are suffering.
• North Carolina’s General Assembly should maintain current laws that prevent fracking until it is demonstrated that North Carolina’s public health, waters, land, air, economy and quality of life can be fully protected from its impacts.” For more information you can check out the following website: Food & Water Watch

From my perspective as a homeowner here in North Carolina, as a REALTOR and as someone who isn't by nature anti-business, I think we're in a no lose position if we insist that our State not allow fracking at this time. I believe that over time and under pressure from both environmentalists and from property owners who are mounting class action suits against the fracking industry, the process will inevitably become safer and cleaner and our states resources will still be there and can be tapped at some later point in time. I see no real downside in not fracking now and see huge downside in allowing fracking to occur now when the industry is in it's infancy.

I would encourage readers who share my concerns to sign the attached petition to keep NC Frack Free. Other effective means of keeping our state Frack Free include: writing a letter to the editor of to your local newspaper, favorite blog, or community newsletter and/or calling Governor Perdue and letting her you don’t want fracking in NC. Call 202-609-9041 and you will be connected to her office.

It's my love of this great area that makes me so passionate about this subject. It's important to me that my friends, clients, and colleagues can ethically live a thriving lifestyle in North Carolina. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to learn more about how fracking could put your North Carolina property at risk.