The value of urban tree cover: A hedonic property price model in Ramsey and Dakota Counties, Minnesota, USA

Urban tree cover benefits communities. These benefits' economic values, however, are poorly recognized and often ignored by landowners and planners. We use hedonic property price modeling to estimate urban tree cover's value in Dakota and Ramsey Counties, MN, USA, predicting housing value as a function of structural, neighborhood, and environmental variables, including tree cover, using a spatial simultaneous autoregressive (SAR) error model. We measure tree cover as percent tree cover on parcels, and within 100, 250, 500, 750, and 1000 m. Results show that tree cover within 100 and 250 m is positive and statistically significant. A 10% increase in tree cover within 100 m increases average home sale price by $1371 (0.48%) and within 250 m increases sale price by $836 (0.29%). In a model including both linear and squared tree cover terms, tree cover within 100 and 250 m increases sale price to 40-60% tree cover. Beyond this point increased tree cover contributes to lower price. Tree cover beyond 250 m did not contribute significantly to sale price. These results suggest significant positive effects for neighborhood tree cover, for instance, for the shading and aesthetic quality of tree-lined streets, indicating that tree cover provides positive neighborhood externalities.