Light Rail Transit and Property Values in Kitchener-Waterloo

The impact of announcements about a future light rail transit (LRT) system on residential property prices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, is measured. Condominiums with better access to a future LRT station are more valuable both before and after the announcements studied. There is only weak evidence that the LRT-related announcements increased the relative value of condominiums or houses with better access to future LRT stations. The small impact of LRT announcements on the value of property suggests low private net benefits of the future LRT and is consistent with very low rates of transit use in Kitchener-Waterloo.