Valuing the New Urbanism: the Impact on Prices

Valuing the New Urbanism: the Impact on Prices of the New Urbanism on Single-Family Homes, written by George Washington University economists Mark Eppli and Charles Tu and published by the Urban Land Institute, contains valuable research for developers, professionals, and public officials involved in the New Urbanism. The basic outlines of the research were reported in the March/April 1999 issue of New Urban News. A study comparing four neotraditional developments showed that consumers are willing to pay an average of $20,000 more for homes in communities with new urbanist design. Based on the research, the following conclusions can be made. 1) At least in the early new urbanist projects, homes cost more than surrounding developments. 2) Buyers are willing to pay a premium to live in new urbanist projects. 3) The true costs for building new urbanist communities have never been reliably quantified, so whether these projects are more or less profitable than conventional subdivisions is a question that remains unanswered. Contact: (202) 624-7000.