Transport Accessibility in a Suburban Zone and Its Influence on the Local Real Estate Market: A Case Study of the Olsztyn Functional Urban Area (Poland)

Agnieszka Szczepańska

doi:10.3390/land10050465

Abstract

The development of real estate markets in the vicinity of cities is linked with suburbanization processes. The migration of the population to suburban areas contributes to the growth of the residential property market (houses, apartments and construction plots). To minimize commuting costs, property buyers opt for locations that are situated close to the urban core. This article analyzes construction plots on the local real estate market in the Olsztyn Functional Urban Area, in terms of their temporal accessibility and demographic changes. Spatial variations in population distribution were analyzed with the use of the Gini index and geostatistical interpolation techniques. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the relationships between the analyzed variables. The study revealed differences in the spatial distribution of the population and real estate transactions as well as strong correlations between average transaction price, number of transactions, commuting time and population. The highest number of transactions were observed in cadastral districts situated in the direct vicinity of Olsztyn’s administrative boundaries and the major transportation routes due to their high temporal accessibility.

Highlights

Suburbanization leads to the sprawl of residential areas in the vicinity of an urban core.This process affects the morphology of suburban areas, their functions and the development of suburban infrastructure
The results of this study indicate that access to the transportation network significantly influences local real estate markets in suburban areas
Similar observations were made by other authors, who demonstrated that transport accessibility influences prices and transactions on the real estate market [86,87]

Summary

Introduction

Suburbanization leads to the sprawl of residential areas in the vicinity of an urban core. This process affects the morphology of suburban areas, their functions and the development of suburban infrastructure. The migration of the population to suburban areas contributes to the formation of settlement subsystems around the city center. This process stimulates the growth of local real estate markets, in particular, the number of transactions involving construction plots. Real estate in the city is swapped for much cheaper and more attractively located properties in a suburban zone. Lower prices and a cleaner environment are the main reasons why city dwellers seek property in suburban areas

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