Value uplift from transit investment-Property value or land value? A case study of the Gold Coast light rail system in Australia

Abstract

The literature on the impact of transit investment on land and property values reports mixed results of estimated value changes. It is well recognised that the data used (e.g., value of land or property) is one of the most important factors that may influence estimates of value changes. However, empirical research into the impact variation between different types of data (i.e., the observed values) is lacking. This study firstly investigates value uplift results variations when estimating the impact of a light rail system on different types of value, including property and land values. Two difference-in-differences models are employed to estimate how property sales price and underlying land assessed price change within catchment areas of the Gold Coast light rail transit as compared to control areas. The results indicate there are significant differences between the impacts of rail investment on property value (positive) and land value (negative). This indicates that one should not simply use property value as the proxy for land value or vice versa. These results have implications for schoalrs and governments to employ suitable strategies to generate revenue from the broader benefits brought by significant infrastructure projects - value capture for transport infrastructure.