ABSTRACT
Although the value of leisure may be very difficult to evaluate convincingly, there is another way of capturing the value. In a sense it is an extension of the Travel Cost Method: a special case, in which the costs of moving to an area to gain the leisure or amenity benefits are identified through the relative cost of housing in that area. People choose to live in places where they are close to facilities that they can enjoy, whether these are pleasant outdoor wooded environments, areas close to the sea, within culturally rich cities, or places close to a range of leisure facilities. Comparing the difference in house prices close to popular places or leisure facilities, or tracking changes in house prices in the same area with developing facilities, will (other things being equal) reveal the value which residents ascribe to those facilities. Clearly, we would need to make corrections to allow for changes caused by other variables and general economic effects.
