Playing in the Airport Zone: The Amenity Separation Effect and the Impact of Airport Proximity on Resort Property Values

Research on airport proximity has focused mainly on permanent residential markets, leaving its relationship with property values in resort-oriented markets less clear. This study examines 9841 resort-style property transactions in Mobile and Baldwin Counties, Alabama, from 1996 to 2023. We use hedonic pricing models, spatial econometric methods, and geographically weighted regression to assess market-wide and local relationships between airport proximity and resort property values. In the spatial error model with transaction-year fixed effects, each additional kilometer from the nearest airport corresponds to an approximately $10,791 increase in sale price. Properties linked to Primary Commercial airports have an estimated conditional value $97,698 higher than properties linked to General Aviation airports. The local analysis also shows significant spatial variation in how airport distance relates to property values. These findings align with the Amenity Separation Effect, which suggests that coastal property markets may value airport access and resort amenities differently. They also show the importance of accounting for spatial variation when evaluating transportation infrastructure in amenity-oriented locations.