Land value assessment based on an integrated Voronoi-geographically weighted regression approach in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

ObjectiveMakkah Al-Mukarramah is the holiest city of the Islamic world because of the presence of the Holy Mosque which is also known as Al-Haram. Due to lodging and business activities around the Holy Mosque, Makkah city has experienced a rapid urban growth and an increase in population. Hence, it is necessary to develop an efficient land value assessment method that takes into account the main factors influencing the prices of land in Makkah. MethodsThis study proposed an integrated Voronoï- Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). Voronoi diagrams were used to subdivide the space into regions which were generated based on the spatial location of land value input data. Then, the GWR regression equation related to each land value input data was applied to the entire corresponding Voronoï region. The proposed approach ensured a continuous estimation of the prices of land in the whole study area. ResultsBased on the results obtained from this research, the property price in Makkah varies between 4000 SAR/m2 and 14050 SAR/m2 according to the location of the property. Because of the holiness of Makkah, the lands nearest to the Holy Mosque have the highest prices. However, comparison with ground value data showed that there is a variation of percentage between −17% and 22%. ConclusionsThe proposed model overestimated the prices of lands around the Holy Mosque, even though the prices remain higher; this was because the Voronoï-GWR model captured the high demand on lands surrounding the Holy Mosque. Nevertheless, the proposed model underestimated the prices of land in the southern region of the study area because of the presence of mountains with new infrastructures under construction not considered.