Impact of a light rail extension on residential property values

Previous work has examined a new light-rail line or upgrades to existing rail infrastructure. However, the following is the first examination of the value of an extension of a light-rail line. The analysis relies on repeat sales of houses in Bayonne, New Jersey, where the first sale occurred before the 2008 announcement of a southern extension to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to 8th Street in Bayonne, and the second sale occurred after the opening of the station in 2011. Our results show that the 8th Street Station had no statistically significant impact on annual house price appreciation. That is, we find no evidence that properties closer to the station showed more price appreciation than properties further from the station. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.