The Impact of Biodiversity and Urban Ecosystem Services in Real Estate. The Case of the Region Ile-de-France

Our research project aims at raising awareness about the value of biodiversity and urban ecosystem services (UES) for the French real estate market, in the private residential housing. Public perception of the environmental risks rose sharply over the last decade. What is the perception of biodiversity and UES in the real estate market? The French Observatory of Sustainable Real Estate analyzed the priorities of employees and companies. The issue of biodiversity was considered as important as water and human rights, but well below energy, business ethics, corporate social responsibility, risk management policy, territorial development, mobility, or comfort. Using GIS data and economic evaluation, by hedonic price methods, we assess the isolated contribution of the explanatory variables of biodiversity and UES on the price of real estate. We analyze the variation of the value for three urban ecosystem services (IDEFESE Project, 2019)—flood control, proximity to green spaces and refreshment—on the price of real estate when a property changes ownership. Our modeling and mapping focus on the price of transaction (€/m2) at the communal scale from 2014 to 2019. The main variables are internal characteristics of housing (area, kind of housing, heating), external characteristics (accessibility and infrastructure, economic, social, and physical environment such as air pollution, noise), and biodiversity indicators and urban ecosystem services for the Ile-de-France region. Moreover, we compare environmental values on the enhancement of green spaces, and their impact on residential choices. These studies are very useful for real estate developers, because they enable them to promote green spaces, and municipalities to become more attractive.