Assessing the Impact of Ocean Proximity and a Nuclear Power Plant on Property Values : a Hedonic Price Study in Östhammar

Sammanfattning: This study examines the impact of environmental attributes, specifically proximity to the ocean and a nuclear power plant, on property prices in Östhammar municipality during the period of 2017-2022. By conducting a hedonic price model for evaluating non-market goods, a dataset of 1210 observations of family houses and vacation homes was analyzed. The dependent variable in the model was the price of sold property, which included house characteristics and distances to environmental attributes. The analysis involves the conducting of regression analyses with robust standard errors and a logarithmic model to represent the elasticity. The result revealed a significant negative relationship between distance to the ocean and property prices, indicating that properties closer to the coastline commanded higher prices. Conversely, the distance to the nuclear power plant and property prices were observed, indicating a positive significant relationship that when increasing the distance from the power plant resulted in higher property prices.