When an oil pipeline or tanker spills, how many homes are impacted and what do those impacts look like?
Our recently released report How do pipeline spills impact property values? concludes that, although direct contamination certainly hurts a home’s value, even neighbouring areas can expect to lose some value in the aftermath of a spill or other incident.
This is because public perception extends beyond the homes that are directly impacted. Especially if it’s not the first spill or leak along a particular pipeline, the surrounding area’s reputation will suffer.
Three cases of reputational damage highlighted in the report show an average value loss of 5-8% for homes up to a kilometre away from the incident. In Vancouver, where the average price of a home is just over $600,000, this could amount to a loss of $30-40,000.