Comparative Studies of United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand Appraisal Practice: Valuing Contaminated Commercial Real Estate

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the development of official governmental concern about merging risks of ownership and threats to the investment value of sites affected by contamination. These concerns were prompted by the earlier discovery of negative impacts on property values associated with a number of high-profile sites around the world: Love Canal, New York and Times Beach, Missouri in the United States; Lekkerkerk in the Netherlands; and Seveso in Italy, for example. Owners of both residential and commercial/industrial properties in or near these sites suffered substantial financial losses as a result of on-site and nearby contamination that was identified.