An investigation of the impacts of wetlands, wetland mitigation banks, and open spaces on nearby property values

• Main Author: Beal, Mary
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2007
• Subjects: Banking industry; Banks; Census of Population; Central business districts; Coasts; Creeks & streams; Economics; Environmental protection; Equilibrium; Essays; Externality; Habitats; Homeowners; Housing; Inventory; Lakes; Land purchases; Land surveys; Land use; Landowners; Neighborhoods; Population density; Property taxes; Property values; Real estate sales; Regression analysis; States; Studies; Variables; Vegetation; Wetlands; Wildlife Conservation; Willingness to pay
• ISBN: 9780549248286; 0549248285

This dissertation consists of three essays that investigate the impact that natural environments have on property values. Using detailed residential housing and land sales data for Florida, this dissertation evaluates how homeowners and landowners value environmental attributes in their area. Specifically, wetlands; wetland mitigation banks; and open spaces are considered. The first essay examines the impact of “potentially developable” wetlands on nearby property values. The results indicate that property owners do value nearby wetlands. More visibly open wetlands are preferred to wetlands with soft or woody vegetation. Additionally, the further a property is located from the coast or the higher the neighborhood population density, the more wetlands are valued. The second essay estimates the value to nearby property owners of wetlands mitigation banks. The results indicate that the majority of property owners do not value pre-permitted or post-permitted wetland mitigation bank sites. Also, the permitting of a wetland mitigation bank generally causes a decrease in value regardless of whether the pre-permitted bank site is perceived as a positive or negative externality. The final essay determines if property owners value nearby parcels that are put on the Florida Forever land acquisition list. The results indicate that the most of these open spaces are considered negative externalities both before and after they are put on the list. However, for a majority of the open spaces nearby homeowners consider the parcels to be less of a negative attribute after they are put on the list.