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Do Houses of Worship Affect Housing Prices? Evidence from Germany

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  • Sebastian Brandt
  • Wolfgang Maennig
  • Felix Richter

Abstract

Using hedonic pricing models, this paper analyzes the impact of houses of worship (HoWs) on the prices of adjacent condominiums in Hamburg, Germany. It addresses the questions of whether this impact differs between Islamic and Christian religious centers, whether potential effects persist even after the house of worship has been deconsecrated, and whether church bells affect residential property prices. This is one of the first studies on this subject to have been conducted outside the U.S. Controlling for spatial dependence and by using potentiality variables, positive externalities of HoWs within a radius of 1,000 m were identified. Compared with properties beyond this threshold, price premiums of 4.6 percent were detected for condominiums at distances of 100–200 m to the next house of worship. The results also show that the positive externalities near mosques do not differ from those of HoWs of other religions and that the positive effect of churches continues to be felt even after they have been deconsecrated. The influence of church bell ringing on the prices of surrounding residential properties, however, could not be substantiated.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastian Brandt & Wolfgang Maennig & Felix Richter, 2014. "Do Houses of Worship Affect Housing Prices? Evidence from Germany," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(4), pages 549-570, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:45:y:2014:i:4:p:549-570
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/grow.12066
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    3. Deborah A. Carroll & Christopher B. Goodman, 2022. "Neighborhood Institutions and Residential Home Sales: Evaluating the Impact of Property Tax Exemptions," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 247-273, February.
    4. Felix Richter, 2014. "Winner Picking in Urban Revitalization Policies: Empirical Evidence from Berlin," ERSA conference papers ersa14p1424, European Regional Science Association.
    5. Shoaib Khalid & Fariha Zameer, 2023. "Revisiting Urban Immovable Property Valuation: An Appraisal of Spatial Heterogeneities in Punjab Using Big Data (Article)," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 62(4), pages 493-520.
    6. Ina Blind & Matz Dahlberg, 2020. "Immigration, new religious symbols, and the dynamics of neighborhoods," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(5), pages 929-958, November.
    7. Jagoda Adamus, 2023. "How Much Are Public Spaces Worth? Non-Market Valuation Methods in Valuing Public Spaces," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 66-89.

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