PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of beneficial externality generated by the World Heritage List (WHL) on residential property values in order to offer new insights into heritage discourses.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses the hedonic price model to estimate empirically the difference in prices for residential properties located in the Old Rauma World Heritage. The study uses residential sales transaction data from the City of Rauma from January 2005 to September 2012 drawn from an online database called KVKL Hintaseurantapalvelu managed by the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies.FindingsThe research results indicate a positive, but insignificant, relationship between the property sale prices (euros/sqm) and heritage designation. However, the total sale prices are higher in Old Rauma as the properties are significantly larger in Old Rauma compared to other properties in Rauma.Originality/valueStudies in heritage economics have assessed the influence of the property market on heritage listing and designation at either the national level, the local level or a mix of national/local levels. This paper contributes to the literature by analysing the impact of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) world heritage designation on residential property values. UNESCO is the leading global institution which deals with the protection of heritage sites that transcend national and local boundaries.

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A recent, unreported, focus group of international heritage practitioners from academia, urban planning, land use management and urban design, found interesting similarities and differences between Australian and German cultural built heritage (CBH) management systems. For validation, a literature review provided a methodological framework and is reported in this paper. Its objective is to confirm the principal themes elicited by the initial work, being: assessment standards, transferable development rights, heritage conservation incentives and private property rights’ management thereby contributing enhanced clarity to the broader relationship between built heritage and stakeholder roles in heritage conservation. This paper is a precursor of more detailed planned empirical, in-country study seeking further insights into stakeholder interests and value systems based on a recent developed analytical approach known as Cultural Heritage Discourse (CHD). It is recognised that this empirical component is a limiting feature of the current research but anticipated as inevitable due to the preliminary stage of enquiry. Keywords: Conservation of built heritage; cultural heritage discourse; heritage management systems; transferable development rights; Germany and Australia

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