Impact of Noise Barriers on Residential Property Values

Highway noise barriers require substantial investment from the Commonwealth of Virginia, yet their effects on nearby residential property values remain uncertain. This study will evaluate the impact of highway noise barriers on residential property values in Virginia, addressing two gaps: (1) reliance on dated Virginia studies, and (2) unclear roles of confounding factors such as school redistricting, crime, interest rates, HOA (homeowner associations and associated amenities), and economic shocks. The study will deliver Virginia-specific, quantitative evidence on the extent to which noise barriers affect property values. The study will identify and analyze at least eight matched pairs of neighborhoods (one with a barrier and one without) for the years with available 2012-2024 sales data, with additional pairs included as data availability allows. If those years are not available, the analysis will focus on the years for which verified sales and barrier data can be obtained. A regression model will be developed that forecast the log of sales price based on barrier presence or absence plus confounding factors such as home size, type of neighborhood, and time (year and quarter) of sale. Then, the regression model will be used in two study designs—a cross-sectional analysis and a pre-post analysis. This study has been requested by Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT’s) Environmental Division to support litigation and to improve communication with citizens.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $239,949.00
• Contract Numbers:

  128680

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Virginia Transportation Research Council

  530 Edgemont Road
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22903
• Performing Organizations:

  Virginia Transportation Research Council

  530 Edgemont Road
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22903
• Principal Investigators:

  Xu, Yiqing

• Start Date: 20260112
• Expected Completion Date: 20270930
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Noise barriers; Property values; Regression analysis
• Geographic Terms: Virginia
• Subject Areas: Economics; Environment; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01975860
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Virginia Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 128680
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 9 2026 9:12AM