Investigating the economic impact of noise barriers on single-family housing markets

Noise has important consequences on health, and these impacts are internalized into real estate prices. From a landscape and public policy perspective, the construction of noise barriers appears to be an effective solution to reduce the impact of negative externalities. However, barriers also create local negative externalities for owners, such as a reduction in sunshine hours and visual encumbrance. The aim of the paper is to investigate the local net effect of noise barriers for the Greater Montreal area using single-family house transactions between 2000 and 2017. The analysis is based on a matching methodological framework with a difference-in-difference approach applied on various noise levels along highway segments. The estimated net impact appears to be place-dependent, with a price premium being assigned to houses located closer to the core of the metropolitan area. This conclusion points towards considering those specificities when authorities aim at implementing such an infrastructure. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd