Quantcast

Cemeteries do not drag down property values, study finds

Green-Wood Cemetery is not negatively impacting home values in  nearby  Park Slope, according to Sharestates.
Green-Wood Cemetery is not negatively impacting home values in nearby Park Slope, according to Sharestates. Photo Credit: Charles Eckert

New Yorkers are not spooked about buying homes near cemeteries, a new analysis found.

Sharestates, a real estate investment firm, found no foreboding signs after looking at returns on investment, changes in property values and demand for homes in areas near large cemeteries.

Kevin Shane, vice president of Sharestates, said the firm ran the numbers ahead of Halloween because it comes across buyers who are wary of investing near a cemetery.

“People always think it’s not going to be the best for their property values and future property value increase,” he said. “The numbers kind of speak for themselves. . . . You don’t see any negatives in here except for demand, and that’s just because we’ve done less loans in some of those areas. In terms of [value] and return on equity, there wasn’t anything of concern.”

Data showed that the value of homes in Park Slope, near Green-Wood Cemetery, are up 57 percent this year, but demand has fallen about 40 percent over the past year.

Given that property values are rising in many parts of the city, it is worth noting that Sharestates analysis does not compare how areas with large cemeteries are performing compared with communities without them.