Accounting for Heterogeneity of Public Lands in Hedonic Property Models

Open space lands, national forests in particular, are usually treated as homogeneous entities in hedonic price studies. Failure to account for the heterogeneous nature of public open spaces may result in inappropriate inferences about the benefits of proximate location to such lands. In this study the hedonic price method is used to estimate the marginal values for proximity to the Pike National Forest. The results indicate that specifying the forest as homogeneous overstates the benefits for homes within two miles relative to specifying the forest based on land use characteristics, because the significant negative effect from noise-intensive activities is omitted. (JEL H41, Q51)