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Abstract

Previous research on the economics of coastal housing markets has proven that housing values along the east coast of the United States capitalize on the attributes of local beaches. These recent studies document two important findings: that beach width positively affects coastal property values and that there is a proximity effect, in which distance from the beach plays a significant role in the capitalization of local beach attributes. This paper builds upon these findings to explore the influence that dune width has on coastal property values in Avalon, New Jersey. I hypothesize that as dune width increases, local property values in Avalon will also increase due to the protection that dunes provide; however, the increasing property values will also be affected by their proximity to the beach. My findings support this hypothesis because the property values in Avalon, New Jersey increase as dune width increases, but the effect dune width has on property values decreases as the distance from the beach increases.

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