Impact of Water Recreational Development on Rural Property Values

Public investment in water-based recreation facilities is made to increase the recreation potential of an area and to improve the economic resource base of the area. Estimates of the impact of one such investment on the structure of the land market and on property values were made for a rural area in Pennsylvania. The findings of the study support the general hypothesis that investment in water-based recreation facilities does significantly influence the value of rural property and the structure of the rural land market. Property characteristics and subdivision activity on surrounding properties had to be considered in addition to distance from the recreational development to measure the impact of this public investment.