Hedonic Property Prices and Access to Public Trust Resources

Coastal communities benefit from a diverse array of ecosystem services derived from spatial proximity to common property resources. We hypothesize that property market’s accrual of benefits from ecosystems are predictated not only on the configuration of the built environment that conveys exposure to amenities, but also the legal context that dictates users’ rights to ecological goods and services. This study explores homeowners’ preferences for proximity and access to public trust resources in Pinellas County, Florida. In addition to benefits tied to proximity to public trust resources, we also show that public access by visitors to the coast can lead to negative externalities when it is associated with high intensity use