Are Homes With Asbestos Siding Worth Less?

This is a trick question of sorts, as it’s akin to asking “Are homes with 1950s tile worth less?”. It all depends on the particular home involved, the local housing market, and a ton of other variables.

In general, though, homes with asbestos siding are viewed by most buyers and sellers as having a “problem”, much like a home with foundation issues.

The general take on asbestos siding is that it’s dangerous and expensive to remove, so that often translates into a perceived lower value for a home that has asbestos cement siding, in the eyes of many home buyers and sellers.

That said, there are many buyers who won’t blink an eye at a home with asbestos siding and won’t consider it a negative at all.

Are Homes With Asbestos Siding Worth Less?

Unlike a home with foundation issues, asbestos siding isn’t always seen as a negative. The look of asbestos siding is also making a comeback of sorts, along with the revived interest in ranch-style homes, and some home-owners are choosing fiber cement siding (that looks exactly like older asbetos siding but contains no asbestos) when installing new siding.

One thing to keep in mind, too, is that sellers sometimes discount their asking price too much, because they overestimate the problem that asbestos siding presents.

If you can purchase a home with asbestos siding at a steep discount, it might actually be worth more to you at the end of the day, if the cost to remove the siding or install new siding over the asbestos siding is smaller than the discount you received when purchasing the home.