Railway sound barriers and housing prices

Abstract

We analyze the impact of sound barriers on residential satisfaction and well-being manifested in housing prices in Singapore. Using the difference-in-difference approach, we demonstrate a significant price effect of sound barriers in high-rise residential environments. There was a 0.6% price increase for public housing units located within 300 m from a railway track after public announcement of sound barriers and a 1.2% further increase after barrier installation. Price effects of sound barriers are heterogeneous by the noise level prior to installation as well as the degree of noise mitigation by barriers. In contrast to the result for public housing, no significant price change was observed for private housing units that have better building design to be shielded from noise even before sound barrier installation. Among public housing, higher-floor units experienced more substantial price increases compared with lower-floor units exposed to less noise prior to barrier installation. Finally, the units that are very close to the railway did not enjoy price premiums brought by sound barriers potentially because noise did not fall below the threshold level of annoyance even after barrier installation.