Resources for the Future, an American nonprofit organization that conducts independent research into environmental, energy, and natural resource issues, released a report on December 20 2013 titled “The Housing Market Impacts of Shale Gas Development.” The abstract of the article can be read below, and a copy of the text can be found here as well as under “additional resources” on our resource page.
Abstract: Using data from New York and Pennsylvania and an array of empirical techniques to control for confounding factors, we recover hedonic estimates of property value impacts from shale gas development that vary with geographic scale and water sources. Results indicate large negative impacts on nearby groundwater-dependent homes, while piped water-dependent homes are positively impacted by proximity (although by a smaller amount), suggesting an impact of lease payments. At a broader geographic scale, we find evidence that new wellbores can increase property values, but these effects diminish over time. Undrilled permits, conversely, may cause property values to decrease.
