A housing value increase is simply the increase in a property’s value due to the addition of a nearby wetland. Just as how a property next to a lake is worth more, the same is true of wetlands.

Increased housing values are good because they raise the property value for homeowners. This means that when the homeowner inevitably sells their home, it is now worth more than it would have been in the absence of the restored marsh. Consequently, this also results in increased revenues from property taxes that can be spent on various public works projects.

Ideally, housing data at Mission Bay would be available so that we could estimate how much the size of the marsh influences housing values. Unfortunately, this data isn’t available so we rely on estimates from other studies. These studies estimate the percent change in housing prices for each acre of wetlands, so we use their estimates on the average value of homes surrounding the proposed area of restored wetlands. We believe that the presence of the marsh is more valuable than what is currently there, but this is a reasonable assertion because the marsh will increase public access and bay aesthetics.

Numerous studies have been conducted linking urban wetlands to increased property values. Improved wetlands will increase housing values for a variety of reasons, but an important one is that the restored marsh will make the bay more aesthetically pleasing which will improve the views of bayfront properties.