Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security	FACT SHEET
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Research Counters NIMBY

Introduction

Sometimes homeowners resist changes to their neighbourhoods, saying their property values may go down. New research by the Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security shows that these fears are unfounded: when a social housing development comes to a neighbourhood, property values are not negatively affected.

Professional appraisals

In 1999, four teams of professional appraisers were asked to review whether there is any impact on property values after a non-market housing development has been introduced in a neighbourhood. The appraisers looked at sales figures, since these reflect the actual decisions of buyers and sellers.

The study replicates and updates work undertaken in 1995, as part of the provincial government’s NIMBY toolkit Toward More Inclusive Neighbourhoods.

Seven communities studied

The research provides a long-term picture of sales activities in the same neighbourhoods in Esquimalt, Kelowna, Nanaimo, North Vancouver, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria. It examines a study area where non-market housing was built – the impact area – and an adjacent control area.

The study looked at five family developments and two group homes in areas where there were no other non-market developments. Occupied during or before 1993, the developments were selected in areas dominated by single detached homes of similar size, age, amenities and condition.

No negative impact

In most of the communities, the value of homes in the impact area did not decrease after the non-market development was occupied. Most often, the average prices increased more in the impact area than the adjacent control area, without non-market housing.

Similar patterns in all study areas

Overall, in the seven communities studied, sales patterns in the impact area mirror those in the control area and the community-wide housing market. When prices went up in the community, they went up in the impact area. Similarly, when they dropped in the control area or the broader community, they dropped in the impact area.

Market values increased marginally on an average annual basis. For the two group homes, the average annual price in the impact area grew more than it did in the control area.

Conclusion

The research shows that non-market housing does not have a negative impact on the selling price of private homes nearby.

For more information

Full text of the research can be obtained from the Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security:

Housing Policy Branch
Phone: (250) 387-7088
Internet: www.sdes.gov.bc.ca/housing/

 

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Last updated 2000 Nov 7