THE IMPACT OF MRT NOISE BARRIERS ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PRICES

Abstract

Noise from the elevated railway tracks is one of the most important negative externalities to residents living nearby. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has commissioned noise barriers to be installed from 2011 onwards along some of the nosiest sections. This is the first research that analyses the impact of the noise barriers on residential satisfaction and wellbeing manifested in housing prices in the Singapore context. To estimate the causal impact, it uses the difference-in-difference approach that considers both spatial (treatment zone within 300 metres of the affected track section vs. control zone between 300 and 500 metres) and temporal (before vs. after noise barriers) variations. To test the possible heterogeneous effects of noise barriers, transactions in the treatment zone were further subdivided into groups by their level and distance from the railway. The results show that there was a 0.68% price increase for HDB units located in the treatment zone after the completion of noise barriers. However, the positive impact of noise barriers is not homogenous. No significant impact was observed for private apartments. Also, levels of units and the distance from the railway track play an important role. The size of the sound barrier effect for units on the lower level is almost twice as that for units on the upper level (0.53% vs 1%). Units within a very shorter distance (i.e. 100m), and especially those on upper levels, do not enjoy any significant house price premium even after the sound barrier completion. Survey results support these findings. While more than half of respondents agree that the barriers were effective, most of those who disagree are residents living on upper levels within 200m of the railway. Research findings provide important planning implications. Given a significant, positive effect of sound barriers on residential wellbeing, further expansions of noise barriers to other transport infrastructure should be considered. The lack of improvement for residents living on upper levels and very close to railway tracks should be addressed through modifications and redesign works on existing and future noise barriers.