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Impact of land subsidence on housing sale values: Evidence from the San Joaquin Valley, California

Mehdi Nemati·Michelle Sneed·Ariel Dinar
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Abstract

This study assesses the impact of land subsidence on housing sale values in the San Joaquin Valley, California. The study utilizes home sale transactions and vertical land-surface displacement data from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar techniques. Using fine-scale fixed effects, matching, as well as a repeat-sales approach, our results indicate that land subsidence resulted in a 2.4% to 5.8% reduction in housing sale values, with the largest reductions occurring in areas where substantial subsidence occurred. Such findings may have implications for groundwater management and can potentially help inform policy design to help mitigate the causes and impacts of land subsidence.

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Mehdi Nemati, Michelle Sneed, Ariel Dinar. 2025-07-29. Impact of land subsidence on housing sale values: Evidence from the San Joaquin Valley, California. https://doi.org/10.3368/le.102.1.092324-0083r

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California placeArticle subjectLand Economics subjectSan Joaquin Valley placeUnited STates place

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