The Effects of Infrastructure Projects on House Prices and Rents: Evidence from the HS2 Extension Cancellation in the UK

This paper uses the HS2 extension cancellation in November 2021 as a quasi-experiment to study its impact on house prices and rents in Leeds. Using a DiD approach on repeat sales and monthly rents, I compare property values near the HS2 station and proposed construction site before and after the announcement. Results show a 3.6% decrease in house prices and a 3.9% decline in rents near the station, while properties near the construction site experienced a 2.4% increase in prices and a 2.1% rise in rents. This is the frst paper to analyse the HS2 cancellation effect using panel data methods.