How will Historic Designation impact my biggest investment: My home?
It is a common misconception that historic districts and landmark designation will negatively impact the value of your home because of the increase the cost of maintaining or modifying a historic resource. In fact, the cost of maintaining a historic property is no greater than maintaining a new home. Moreover the opposite is true when it comes to your home's value. Homes with historic designation routinely command a higher price when compared to homes in similar neighborhoods that lack historic district designation.
In Sacramento, a study on this topic written by UOP economic professors Dr. David E. Clark and Dr. William E. Herrin entitled, "Historical Preservation Districts and Home Sale Prices: Evidence from the Sacramento Housing Market"
The study concluded that, "[t]he combined effect of these externalities yields sale prices up to 17.32 percent higher for an average-aged house within a preservation area [in the City of Sacramento]. Improvements done in these areas thus result in maintaining the 'look' of an older structure and thus the 'character' of the neighborhood. With the exception of Sutter’s Fort, there is little evidence to suggest that the permit application process is burdensome enough to mitigate the positive aspects of location within a historical preservation area [Historic District}."
Learn More...
If you are interested in the topic of home values and historic designation, we suggest you have a look at the following studies to learn more about the topic. For decades, in study after study, the results are the same: home prices in historic districts are higher when compared to similar neighborhoods that lack historic district designation. This has led economists to conclude that historic designation will lead to higher average home prices for residential communities.
We Can Help You Learn More
Preservation Sacramento Board of Directors contains Preservation Professionals who have studied this topic extensively. If your neighborhood is considering historic district designation and would like a presentation on this topic, please CONTACT US and we will schedule a time to present this POWERPOINT presentation to your community.
