The Scenic America website has a link to  a 2011 study by a University of Pennsylvania researcher Jonathan Snyder which found that in Philadelphia, billboards had an adverse impact on the value of homes nearby.  Billboard Insider has seen references to this study by city planners who are anti-billboard.

Correlation is not causation.  Homes near a freeway or major road are always worth less than homes which aren’t because of the noise and impact of traffic.  And guess where most billboards are?  Near freeways and busy roads.

A more extensive 2012 study by Duane Morris LLP and Econsult Corporation found that billboards had no impact on Philadelphia home values after you control for proximity to a freeway or major road. Download and keep a copy of this report handy the next time you hear a city planner say a study has found that billboards have a deleterious impact on home prices.  We’ll quote the conclusion of the 2012 study:

“The Snyder report purports to find that the nearby presence of billboards has an adverse impact on house values in Philadelphia.  While the raw data does indicate that average house prices within 500 feet of a billboard are lower than the average house price for the city, the author does not sufficiently address the fact that billboards are generally located on major commercial corridors where house prices are typically lower, and that these homes have systematic differences in their structural characteristics…When these attributes are adequately controlled for in a hedonic regression, the results indicate that proximity to a billboard has no meaningful effect on house values…Thus the data indicates that when the locational and physical attributes of housing are sufficiently controlled for, the nearby presence of billboards has no effect on house values.”

Billboard Insider can think of one category of landowner who sees an increase in property value as a result of a billboard – the landlord.   Assuming a 8% cap, every dollar of billboard rent results in a $12 increase in property values to the landlord.  No wonder a small property owner testified in support of Lamar Advertising when Lamar successfully opposed draconian billboard legislation in Louisiana in 2019.

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