Pricing Coastal Amenities and Flood Hazards

Abstract

Coastlines bring a basket of precious amenities to residents but also have significant and growing risks from storms and rising sea levels. Disentangling these amenities and risks is of everincreasing importance to the public and policymakers. Evaluating the most tangible aspect of coastal living in New England, we present a scalable way to construct parcel-specific measures of coastal amenities. Estimates suggest that good coastal amenities, represented by unobstructed ocean views, add about 33% to 69% to property prices. Coastal hazard effects are separated from the amenities: the flood zone discounts in coastal Connecticut and Massachusetts are generally low.