Paper on the proximity of various types of nonprofit organizations to residential housing values

The Location of Nonprofit Organizations Influences Residential Housing Prices: A Study in Marion County, Indiana, from the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

The paper analyzes the impact of the proximity and number of the following types of nonprofit organizations: Arts & Culture; Education Nonprofits; Environment & Animal Nonprofits; Health; Human Services; Public Benefit; Religious Institutions; International Organizations; and Mutual Benefit Nonprofits.

From the conclusion:

Our results show that the effect of nonprofit proximity on house sales prices varies:
• from positive to negative,
• among types of nonprofits, and
• by concentrations of nonprofits within nonprofit types.

These observations are true while controlling for the presence and concentrations of other nonprofit types. For some nonprofit types, the effect is not significant unless multiple nonprofits are present (i.e., arts and culture, human services, religious, and international). In addition, for some types, their influence on house price is straightforward and consistent. Education, health, and religion nonprofits have a positive effect on housing prices, and any significant marginal effect is also positive. Likewise, the interpretation associated with the effect of human services (negative) and mutual benefit (not significant) is consistent.

On the other hand, the results from the model for arts and culture, environment and animal, public benefit, and international are not as easy to interpret. Each of those has marginal effects which shift between negative and positive based on the concentrations of those types of nonprofits within a one-mile radius. ...

It must be remembered, however, that this analysis did not consider the value of the goods, services, and employment that these nonprofits provided, benefits that may well be larger than the detrimental effects of reduced house sales prices.

(The Center has also published papers finding positive impacts on property values from the presence of greenways--multi-use paths for bicyclists and walkers. See "Property values, recreation values, and urban greenways" from the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration.)