The impacts of underground petroleum releases on a homeowner's decision to sell: A difference-in-differences approach

Actual and perceived damages from environmental disamenities can disrupt a utility maximizing household's otherwise optimal decision of when to sell their home. This study examines this relatively under-investigated topic with an empirical application to petroleum releases from leaking underground storage tanks, like those commonly found at gas stations. The ubiquity and relative homogeneity of this disamenity facilitates a difference-in-differences methodology. The results reveal that the timing of home sales is impacted by leak and cleanup events at these disamenities; leading to both selling sooner and delaying a sale, depending on the event, presence of the primary exposure pathway, and the quality of the home. The implications of these results are discussed. •Difference-in-differences study of households' decisions to sell home.•Focus on impact of leaking underground storage tanks in Maryland, USA.•Discrete time duration models suggest timing of sale can be sooner or delayed.•Find heterogeneity based on exposure pathway, treatment events, and home quality.