The price of beauty: Biodiversity effects on residential housing markets

We study how and why local biodiversity affects residential property values. We leverage remotely sensed indicators and a novel dataset of granular property listings to examine how changes in biodiversity proxies load on real estate prices. More biodiversity is associated with higher listing prices and fewer properties listed in local housing markets. These results suggest that price hikes are driven by supply‑side constraints instead of gauging a ''greenium'' that reflects innate preferences. Exogenous zoning shocks to foster biodiversity corroborate the presence of supply side constraints as price drivers in residential housing markets. Our findings emphasize the need to calibrate biodiversity and (social) housing policy objectives more explicitly.