Pipelines and Property Values: An Eclectic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Incidents involving natural gas pipelines in 2010-2011 in California and Pennsylvania have brought attention to the risks of natural gas pipelines. This paper concerns whether proximity to pipelines affects residential property values. A broad literature exists on the effects of proximity to disamenities on property values, particularly of potentially hazardous sites. This paper is unique in focusing on pipeline studies using actual sales data. We find that there is no credible evidence based on actual sales data that proximity to pipelines reduces property values.