Abstract

The impact of the Houston Ship Channel on property values
Track: Cadastral and Land Records
Authors: Ed Wrenn, Errol Wiliams

Houston is home to more than 200 petroleum companies, and more than 25% of the nation refinery capacity is clustered along the Houston Ship Channel. The continuous demand for industrial facility along the channel is characterized by the absorption of vacant land and residential use changes.
Geographic Information System (GIS) is used to analyze the impact of the Houston Ship Channel on property values. Using a five-mile buffer as the study area, total value changes and vacant land absorption is presented. Time series analysis is utilized to project property use changes, depicting negative correlation between residential and industrial properties. The valuation model utilizes critical variables including: accessibility, to the channel and other modes of transportation; municipality; land size; zoning; and dummy variables representing impact of the Panama Canal expansion. Results show that accessibility variables are significant at 95% confidence interval.