Healthy Lakes & Higher 

Property Values 

Facts and resources to help real estate professionals 

protect our nation’s lakes and lake shorelines

taining and r

Real estate professionals are important partners in mainestoring the quality of 

our nation’s lakes. “Lakeshore property is in demand because of the 

amenities or benefits [it] provide[s] 

its owners, such as water based 

recreation possibilities, an aesthetic 

setting for a home, tranquility away 

from urban and commercial life, and 

perhaps the privilege or esteem of 

owning an increasingly scarce and 

valuable resource.” 1 Since the value 

of lakeshore property is tied to the 

quality of the adjacent lake, real 

estate professionals have a vested 

interest in helping homebuyers and 

communities restore and protect 

their lakes. 

In April 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the National Lakes Assessment (NLA), the first-ever baseline 

study of the condition of the 

nation’s lakes. The NLA finds that 

44% of U.S. lakes are in fair or poor 

condition, and that, of the problems 

assessed, poor lakeshore habitat has 

the greatest impact on lake health. 

Lakeshore habitat refers to the 

trees, shrubs, and tall grasses that 

grow along the shore of a lake and 

overhang the water. Poor lakeshore habitat occurs when native 

trees and shrubs are removed from 

around the lake and replaced by 

manicured lawns, armored bulkheads, paved areas, buildings, and 

docks. Healthy native vegetation 

strengthens and preserves the lake 

shoreline, provides shelter, habitat, 

and food sources for lake fish and 

wildlife, and helps protect the lake 

from the impacts of pollution, such 

as runoff from paved surfaces or 

erosion from construction sites.

Clean lakes with healthy natural 

shorelines are good for everyone. 

They provide aesthetic value, recreational opportunities, higher property values, jobs, and a higher tax 

base.2 Maine and Minnesota conducted two studies linking the high 

quality of lakes with higher property 

values. The 2005 Maine study found 

that good water quality on lakes 

can increase recreational revenues 

by millions and individual property 

values by billions over time.3 

Photo courtesy of John H. McShane

Resources for 

Real Estate 

Professionals

EPA Clean Lakes

www.epa.gov/owow/lakes

Choosing the Right 

Waterfront Property Wisconsin DNR & UW Extension

www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/

publications/choosingProperty/

ChoosingRightWaterfrontProperty.

pdf 

Protecting Your Waterfront 

Investment- 10 Simple 

Shoreland Stewardship 

Practices 

Wisconsin DNR & UW Extension 

http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/

pdf/shore.waterfront.pdf

Lakeshore Property Values & 

Water Quality: Evidence from 

Property Sales in the Mississippi Headwaters Region

Mississippi Headwaters Board and 

Bemidji State University 

www.friendscvsf.org/bsu_study.pdf 

The Economics of LakesDollars and $ense 

Maine Bureau of Land & Water 

Quality

www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/

doclake/research.htm
Both 

pro

ity, the “ex5

the Maine and Minnesota studies found that there is a positive relationship between water clarity and 

perty values. In Minnesota, the study found that if lakes experienced a one-meter change in water clarpected property price changes for these lakes are in the magnitude of tens of thousands to millions of 

dollars.” The study also found that homebuyers are influenced by water clarity when making purchases and are 

willing to pay more for a better environment. 

Additional resources on clean lakes are available at 

 www.epa.gov/owow/lakes/

1 Krysel, Charles, Elizabeth Boyer, Charles Parson, Patrick Welle (May 2003). “Lakeshore 

Property Values & Water Quality: Evidence from Property Sales in the Mississippi Headwaters Region.” Mississippi Headwaters Board and Bemidji University, pgs 9-10.

2 “The Economics of Lakes- Dollars and Sense. (2005). ”Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Land & Water Quality, pg 1.

3 Ibid, 4 Ibid, pg 2. 

5 Krysel, Charles, et al., pg 34. 

Lakes Protection Tips for Real Estate Professionals Photo Fred Rozumalski

Manicured lawns require lawn chemicals that can wash into the 

lake. Shallow grass roots and decorative rocks do not stabilize the 

shoreline or provide habitat for lake fish. 

Photo Fred Rozumalski

Deep-rooted native trees and shrubs stabilize the shoreline, 

provide a buffer against pollution, and improve habitat for lake 

fish and wildlife.

 

Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds

1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Mail Code 4501-T

Washington, D.C. 20460

www.epa.gov/owow/lakes

www.twitter.com/EPAowow

EPA-840-F-10-002