World heritage designation and residential property values: The Case of Old Rauma, Finland

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of beneficial externality generated by the World Heritage List (WHL) on residential property values in order to offer new insights into heritage discourses. The study uses the hedonic price model to estimate empirically the difference in prices for residential properties located in the Old Rauma World Heritage. The study uses residential sales transaction data from the City of Rauma from January 2005 to September 2012 drawn from an online database called KVKL Hintaseurantapalvelu managed by the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies. The research results indicate a positive, but insignificant, relationship between the property sale prices (Euros/sqm) and heritage designation. However, the total sale prices are higher in Old Rauma as the residential properties are significantly larger in Old Rauma compared to other properties in Rauma.