Spatial hedonic models of airport noise, proximity, and housing prices

"Despite the refrain that housing prices are determined by "location, location, and location," no prior studies of airport noise and housing prices have incorporated spatial econometric techniques. We compare various spatial econometric models and estimation methods in a hedonic price framework to examine the impact of noise on 2003 housing values in the neighborhoods near the Atlanta airport. Strong evidence is presented that spatial effects are important and that these effects are best captured by a model that includes both spatial autocorrelation and autoregressive parameters. Modeling the spatial effects should yield airport noise parameter estimates that are more efficient and that are not subject to specification bias. Another key result is that the inclusion of spatial effects magnifies the negative price impacts of airport noise"--Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis web site.