The Impact of Age on the Value of historic homes in a Nationally Recognized Historic District

This paper uses hedonic modeling to test the effects of age, both actual and effective, on the value of historic properties within a nationally recognized historic district. Findings show that there is a critical point where the value of historic properties is affected by actual age and the depreciation schedule turns upward. Effective age is used to develop a variant of Tobin's Q which provides evidence that inter-district price differentials often attributed to historic designation are at least partially a function of investment differentials between districts.

Determining Market Perceptions on Contamination of Residential Property Buyers using Contingent Valuation Surveys

This study reports on the results of several residential contingent valuation (CV) studies conducted throughout the US. Over the past several years CV has often been used to illustrate potential residential buyer bid prices for contaminated real property. The data set for this study contains 1,115 telephone interviews and examines the consistency of the results for residential property affected by a Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) in different markets in eight states, controlling for income, age, education, local market type, and other demographic factors. Negative discounts associated with a LUST for marginal bidders in the top half of the market were quite consistent across states, varying from ?25% to ?33%, with an average of ?31%,. Using ANOVA indicates that bidding patterns from six of the seven states were statistically similar. Male bidders, those over 40 years of age and those with no high school degree were more likely to bid, while those with higher incomes and those bidding on certain, rather than suspected contamination, were less likely to bid. Local market type did not appear to affect bid outcomes. Using the marginal bidder approach, the CV results benchmark reasonably closely to, but still higher than, revealed preference outcomes for residential LUST sites in Ohio.

Timber and Multi-Storey Buildings: Industry Perceptions of Adoption in Australia

The use of Engineered Wood Systems (EWS) as structural alternatives or complements of traditional materials, such as steel and concrete, is of growing interest and acceptance in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. Gathering evidence from the Australian context, this paper proposes a roadmap for the adoption of EWS as the primary structural materials of medium-rise buildings, with the scope of increasing levels of public awareness about the potential and current shortcomings of these building technologies. A nation-wide survey with stakeholders at the forefront of adoption in structural design, construction, and property development, indicates that the demand for timber in multi-storey projects has promising prospects of growth, but faces circumstantial industry-wide hurdles in the short to medium term. Awareness of benefits and inclination towards more use of timber among designers are positive factors that provide a promising base for further adoption. The translation of positive front-end design attitudes into adoption, however, requires holistic long-term investment efforts with industry-wide education. The pathway to innovation for timber in multi-storey projects needs to grow beyond mere promotional strategies of its benefits, seeking to expand technical knowledge through education and reaching out beyond a group of already committed and knowledgeable stakeholders at the forefront of adoption

Timber and Multi-Storey Buildings: Industry Perceptions of Adoption in Australia

The use of Engineered Wood Systems (EWS) as structural alternatives or complements of traditional materials, such as steel and concrete, is of growing interest and acceptance in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. Gathering evidence from the Australian context, this paper proposes a roadmap for the adoption of EWS as the primary structural materials of medium-rise buildings, with the scope of increasing levels of public awareness about the potential and current shortcomings of these building technologies. A nation-wide survey with stakeholders at the forefront of adoption in structural design, construction, and property development, indicates that the demand for timber in multi-storey projects has promising prospects of growth, but faces circumstantial industry-wide hurdles in the short to medium term. Awareness of benefits and inclination towards more use of timber among designers are positive factors that provide a promising base for further adoption. The translation of positive front-end design attitudes into adoption, however, requires holistic long-term investment efforts with industry-wide education. The pathway to innovation for timber in multi-storey projects needs to grow beyond mere promotional strategies of its benefits, seeking to expand technical knowledge through education and reaching out beyond a group of already committed and knowledgeable stakeholders at the forefront of adoption

Quantifying Long-term Environmental Regulatory Risk for Brownfields: Are Reopeners Really an Issue?

Brownfields are potentially contaminated sites that often present economic development opportunities that require financing. State environmental voluntary clean-up programmes (VCPs) offer closure letters as a way for developers to obtain assurance that their clean-up was completed properly and is 'bankable'. However, there is still fear among lenders about the potential for these closed remediated sites to be reopened and therefore negatively affect the value of the real estate as collateral. While it is believed to be an infrequent act, there has been no comprehensive study of reopeners, and therefore of the effectiveness of VCPs available. This study seeks to quantify the incidence of reopeners in the USA through a systematic inventory of VCP administrators. The authors initially find that among the 46 states with VCPs, only 12 cases were reopened out of 11 497 closed environmental cases, a reopener rate of between 0.1% and 0.2%. However, reopener rates may increase with more vigorous enforcement and over the passage of time. This information means that brownfield deals can go forward with confidence, and that the risk of reopeners can now be quantified, allowing cheaper insurance and more assurance that negative outcomes can be avoided.

Non-spatial Contagion in Real Estate Markets: The Case of Brookland Greens

We investigate contagion in real estate markets by evaluating the effects of a widely publicized landfill contamination event in one local market on the price of homes near landfills in non-impacted markets within the same metropolitan region. The impact of proximity to open, closed, and redeveloped landfills in the directly affected and contagion neighborhoods is tested at distances varying from <500 meters to 2,500 meters using the traditional hedonic pricing model. The results are mixed and relative to the current use of the landfill as closed, capped, and redeveloped landfills show no impact. Sites that are capped yet undeveloped and sites with open fills appear to show some impact, although further research is needed to support any contagion effects