Academic paper from Contemporary Economic Policy journal on the effects of a temple on housing values.
Eric Thompson, Roger B. Butters, and Benjamin T. Schmitz, "The property value premium of a place of worship," Contemporary Economic Policy 30, no. 2 (2012): 215-222
Using a unique data set of residential housing values we improve on previous hedonic pricing and event studies literature to estimate the amenity effects of a new religious structure on local property values. We improve on previous research by extending our analysis with a pre-and post-treatment model. Using a pre-and post-treatment model, we do not find that the religious structure that we examined influenced the value of surrounding properties in the period after it completion. Results suggest that previous research using only post-completion data may mischaracterize the amenity effects of religious structures.