Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Honors Thesis (Open Access)

Department

Colby College. Economics Dept.

Advisor(s)

James Siodla

Second Advisor

Dave Findlay

Abstract

Residential land values reflect the benefits of accessibility to amenities as well as the costs associated with commercial activity. This trade-off is particularly important in Maine, a predominantly rural state where most households rely on automobiles to access employment, retail, and civic amenities. Drawing on hedonic theory, I analyze how households value proximity to public and private amenities located within downtowns and shopping centers. Using parcel-level transaction data from ATTOM combined with amenity data from OpenStreetMap, I construct a novel approach that differentiates downtown and shopping center clusters across the state. The findings demonstrate that properties located immediately adjacent to downtowns and shopping centers experience value penalties, and those at a moderate distance, around 3 miles away from a downtown and 7 miles from a shopping center, earn a premium based on their proximity. Properties located beyond those thresholds are associated with a lower valuation. Amenity proximity and composition emerge as key determinants of land values.

Keywords

Hedonic pricing, land value, rural housing markets, property values, non-linear valuation, Maine

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