Assessing the influence of cemetery proximity to rental values of residential properties in Calabar urban

Purpose With the proliferation of cemeteries in residential neighborhoods in the Calabar metropolis and the fact that property investors invest majorly for profit, the study aims to investigate if cemetery proximity to residential properties significantly influence their rental values. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a cross-sectional case study approach using Big Qua Royal, Goldie (Etta Agbor) and Ikot Ansa cemeteries in the Calabar metropolis. For the purpose of comparison of the influence of cemetery proximity to rental values, this study adopted one-stage cluster sampling with four clusters (0–100, 101–200, 201–300 and 301–400) in the study area, with one cluster differing from the other by 100 m in distance to the cemetery. All properties within each cluster in each of the three cemeteries were studied, giving a total of 213 properties from which study data was obtained. One hypothesis was formulated to guide the study. Data was analyzed using frequency counts, simple percentages and four-point Likert analysis. The hypothesis was tested at the 0.05 significant level using a one-way ANOVA with cemetery proximity as factor and rental value as the dependent variable and Fisher’s least significant difference test for pairwise comparison of cluster rentals. Findings The findings showed that cemetery proximity to residential properties significantly influences rental values, negatively. Also, rental values of properties located within 201–300 m distance to the cemetery were significantly different from those located at 0–100 m (mean difference [MD] = 30.486, p = 0.000), 101–200 m (MD = 797.419, p = 0.000) and 301–400 m (MD = 740.036, p = 0.000). Originality/value Several studies have been conducted on the different externalities and their effect on property values in Nigeria and elsewhere, but cemeteries remain the least studied (Larson and Coleman, 2010). Literature is scanty on the effect of proximity of cemeteries to residential property values and the available ones are essentially foreign-based (Bolitzer and Netusil, 2000; Lutzenhiser and Netusil, 2000; Larson and Coleman, 2010; Nicholas and Crompton, 2005), with only a single study by Ibisola and Fateye (2021) on the subject in Lagos, but no enquiry has been made into this subject in CRS, Calabar, with particular reference to the study areas.