Golf Real Estate
The walkable open spaces and year-round recreational opportunities provided by golf courses make them a highly valued amenity in residential communities, enhancing quality of life. Golf courses significantly enhance the value of surrounding real estate, driving over $444.6 million in direct economic and fiscal contributions in 2023. This impact comes through two channels. First, golf-related residential construction generated $311.8 million in spending as new communities expanded the state’s housing stock, supporting 2,685 jobs across labor, materials, and subcontracting. Second, homes in golf communities capture a measurable “golf premium,” with adjacency adding an estimated 20% to property values. This premium translated into $132.8 million in recurring property tax revenues for local governments, directly funding schools, infrastructure, and public services. Together, these contributions show golf’s long-term role as a community asset - stimulating new investment, strengthening local tax bases, and sustaining the economic and quality-of-life benefits that make New York’s golf communities highly desirable places to live.
Note: The Attributable New Home Construction Impact is presented as a one-year figure for comparative purposes. This impact is a one-time injection into the economy for each new home built, while the Incremental Property Tax Revenue is a recurring annual benefit.
Approach
What is assessed
The analysis measures the economic contributions of golf-related residential construction and the property value premium of homes adjacent to courses, focusing on spending and fiscal revenues attributable to golf amenities.
How it is measured
New York Golf Facility Survey data and third-party studies establish a 20% property value premium, applied to adjacent homes and taxed at New York’s 1.70% effective property tax rate for owner-occupied homes. This is a statewide average assumption and not specific to individual counties or municipalities. Premium assumptions are supported by National Association of Realtors studies (15–30%) and academic research identifying premiums up to 25.8% for lots directly abutting courses. New construction impacts are modeled using NAHB’s 64.4% national construction-cost ratio, with a 25% attribution factor applied to reflect buyer motivation tied to golf. The construction impact is treated as a one-time injection, while the property tax impact is recurring. Figures should be interpreted as conservative, statewide aggregates.
