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A Comprehensive Review of the Evidence of the Impact of Surface Water Quality on Property Values

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  • Sarah Nicholls

    (Departments of Community Sustainability and Geography, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA)

  • John Crompton

    (Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

Abstract

The desirability of living on or close to water is reflected in sometimes substantial property price premiums. Water quality has an important influence on property prices, since it impacts a water body’s appearance, capacity to support wildlife, and recreational potential. As water quality continues to be altered by human use and activity, and in light of new threats posed by projected climate and associated environmental change, understanding the impact of changing quality on property prices, and the associated property tax base, is paramount. This paper reviews the body of evidence on this topic to date. Of the 43 distinct studies represented in the 48 publications reviewed, the expected, statistically significant relationship between water quality and property price was demonstrated in at least one of the models developed in all but two studies. As a whole, they provide convincing evidence that clean water has a positive effect on property values.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Nicholls & John Crompton, 2018. "A Comprehensive Review of the Evidence of the Impact of Surface Water Quality on Property Values," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-30, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:500-:d:131729
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Heggerud, Christopher M. & Wang, Hao & Lewis, Mark A., 2022. "Coupling the socio-economic and ecological dynamics of cyanobacteria: Single lake and network dynamics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    3. Ioannis Chatziioannou & Luis Alvarez-Icaza & Efthimios Bakogiannis & Charalampos Kyriakidis & Luis Chias-Becerril, 2020. "A Structural Analysis for the Categorization of the Negative Externalities of Transport and the Hierarchical Organization of Sustainable Mobility’s Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-27, July.
    4. Irwin, Nicholas & Wolf, David, 2022. "Time is money: Water quality's impact on home liquidity and property values," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    5. Andrew Bechard, 2021. "Gone with the Wind: Declines in Property Values as Harmful Algal Blooms Are Blown Towards the Shore," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 242-257, February.
    6. Zhang, Jiarui & Phaneuf, Daniel J. & Schaeffer, Blake A., 2022. "Property values and cyanobacterial algal blooms: Evidence from satellite monitoring of Inland Lakes," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    7. Rodrigo Barbone Gonzalez & José Renato Haas Ornelas & Thiago Christiano Silva, 2023. "The Value of Clean Water: evidence from an environmental disaster," Working Papers Series 583, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    8. Gonzalez, Rodrigo Barbone & Haas Ornelas, José Renato & Silva, Thiago Christiano, 2023. "The Value of Clean Water: Evidence from an Environmental Disaster," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13273, Inter-American Development Bank.
    9. Weng, Weizhe & Boyle, Kevin J. & Farrell, Kaitlin J. & Carey, Cayelan C. & Cobourn, Kelly M. & Dugan, Hilary A. & Hanson, Paul C. & Ward, Nicole K. & Weathers, Kathleen C., 2020. "Coupling Natural and Human Models in the Context of a Lake Ecosystem: Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, USA," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).

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