Policy relevant monetary valuation of flood risk: a review of approaches and estimates

This review provides insights into current methodological approaches to the valuation of flood risk and the conceptualisation of said risk. It reviews 32 papers identified through an extensive literature search. While there seems to be a degree of agreement in using hedonic pricing methods and that the introduction of new flooding information impacts house prices, there is significant variability in the magnitude of this effect. Some markets respond differently to others, with house prices recovering quickly in some instances despite recent instances of flooding. This is further complicated by the spatial dependencies, particularly in coastal locations, and the diverse ways in which flood risk can be framed to affect the price of houses. This is captured in a conceptual overview, where we have produced categorisations for the range of flood risk variables found in the studies reviewed. Potential avenues for further research aiming to experiment with combinations of flood risk variables that can refine valuation models are illustrated in the case of England and Wales, in terms of both geographic and governance particularities.