There's a suburban legend out there that rail-to-trail conversions drive down property values.
Propose a trail on an abandoned railway and you'll hear fear and loathing from neighbors about loss of privacy, increased crime, traffic and noise, all which will affect property values.
A University of Cincinnati master's degree candidate in urban planning decided put those fears to the test by checking data from a populated section of the Little Miami Scenic Trail in southeast Ohio. Her research concluded that the opposite is true.
Duygu Karadeniz discovered that single family home sale prices increase by $7.05 for every foot closer a property is located to the trail.
The trail
The Little Miami Scenic Trail (see map below) runs for some 78 miles from near Springfield south to the vicinity of Milford. Plans call for it to be linked into a much longer trail that will one day stretch from the Ohio River to Lake Erie.
It's the longest paved trail in Ohio.
Karadeniz conducted her research for “The Impact of the Little Miami Scenic Trail on Single Family Residential Property Values” along the southern stretch of the trail. She looked at home sale prices within one mile of Little Miami trail entrances in Hamilton and Clermont counties from 2003 to 2005.
Economy
The trail has already proven to be an economic boon to businesses along its length. Some 150,000 people use the trail annually, spending an average $13.24 per visit.
Although 51% of homeowners in previous surveys had the impression the bike trail increased their property value, she found, no one had analyzed data coming from actual home sale prices.
When Karadeniz ran the numbers (her methods are explained in the report), she found the single family home prices were higher closer to the trail.
Good investment
The finding that property values increase with proximity to the trail supports the idea that building bike trails are good investments for communities.
Not only do visitors spend money when they visit, but the costs for building and maintaining trails can be recouped from higher property values.
And the old bug-a-boos about crime, noise and loss of privacy seem to be trumped by the convenience of living near the trails that offer healthy outdoor pursuits.
Photo above from Karadeniz research paper
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