Housing Values Research Articles

Hybrid Decentralized Systems of Non-potable Water Supply: Performance and Effectiveness Analysis

This article presents a study of Hybrid Rainwater/Greywater Systems (HRGS), with the objective of perceiving the main factors that influence their performance and how they can be optimized. For this goal, a decision support tool, that makes their dimensioning and performs an economic and performance analysis, was used for four different types of buildings: a single-family house, a multifamily building and two service buildings. For each case, distinct scenarios were defined, considering different end-uses of non-potable water, in order to evaluate the performance of the systems using effectiveness and performance indicators. Results show that the effectiveness of “non-potable water consumption” is influenced by two main factors: the final uses considered for non-potable water and the storage volume. In most of the study cases, values of effectiveness (ratio between the volume of non-potable water used and non-potable water demand for the final uses considered) greater than 50% were obtained. In the case of domestic buildings, such as single-family house and multifamily building effectiveness values above 67%, were obtained. And for the case of service buildings, the effectiveness was between 42.8 and 65.6% in one case, and between 12.9 and 93.6% for the other. The best performance of the studied hybrid systems is achieved when the volume of non-potable water used in the building is maximized, resulting in greater savings of potable water. In addition, the larger the fraction of greywater reused, the lower the volume of wastewater produced and sent directly to the sanitation network.

Solar battery rebates for Victorian homes: Eligibility and impacts

To promote the uptake of home batteries, the Victorian state government has introduced rebates, beginning in 2019. Using postcode-level data, we quantify some important drivers of home battery uptake with methods such as a negative binomial model. The results show a more robust impact on home battery uptake from housing values rather than income. This suggests that policymakers should change rebate eligibility criteria to support households with lower levels of assets rather than income. Greater focus on assets could involve more support for low-asset households, enhancing equity compared to the current approach of a high and binary eligibility threshold of $3 million related to housing values. We also find evidence that battery uptake was higher by 58% in the nine months to March 2021 for postcodes that had earlier eligibility for rebates, compared to postcodes without eligibility at the start of the period. This suggests that even minor timing differences in rebate availability can have substantial impacts on technology adoption. There are also potential social equity implications for policymakers to consider if some locations receive earlier eligibility. Our analysis showing battery-policy effectiveness is informative for other jurisdictions considering details for battery policies, given the novelty of the battery context.

The Vertical and Horizontal Equity of Property Assessment Caps

Do assessment caps make the property tax more regressive? Are they fair to all taxpayers, or do some groups get more benefit than others. This paper examines these issues using a sample from the Jacksonville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Regression models are run using housing values averaged at the census block level and matched to census block socioeconomic and demographic data obtained from the US Census. Results show that when permanent income is used as the measure of ability to pay, the SOH benefit makes the property tax fairer, but when current income is used as the income measure, it makes the tax less fair. In addition, the assessment caps cause some serious horizontal inequities. For, example, homes in 100% Black census blocks receive, on average, 6.6 percentage points less value from the SOH benefit relative to their home’s value than the homes in 100% White census blocks.

Landscape Value in the Spanish Costa del Sol’s Real Estate Market: The Case of Marbella

Housing prices are influenced by extrinsic and intrinsic factors. This study aims to highlight the economic impact of the perceived landscape on single-family houses prices in a Spanish Mediterranean urban area (Marbella). Considering the landscape an important added value in real estate markets, this study also explores the landscape elements that contribute the most to the value of housing. A particularly positive influence of mixed views (urban elements and Mediterranean scrub) and sea views is detected in the analysis. Sea views are highly requested in the local housing market, but due to the graded topographical layout of Marbella, it is not very difficult to have sea views for houses. The low importance of views on natural land areas is worth noting when one of the attractions of this municipality is that of a highly valued Mediterranean natural environment. Views on the old town centre are somewhere in between: although the old town centre is highly regarded, with a generally good state of preservation, the sampled properties have poorer quality perspectives, with reduced visual basins and views centred on the foreground, usually the houses opposite.

House Price Prediction with Big Data

Many of the current models for house price prediction focus on the house price index itself or include too few factors. In this research, however, different aspects of housing properties (bedrooms, bathrooms, grade, view, etc.) will be incorporated to generate a more accurate prediction model. Doing so not only remedies for a lack of variables in current models but also benefits the consumers by providing an accurate estimation of housing values. This paper examines the estimation methodology of a multiple linear regression model. To get the optimal prediction power and keep the model as simple as possible, different variable combinations will be tested. Through comparing different regression models and analyzing the regression results, the predictive model introduced in this paper has a high house price prediction power. This paper provides a potential solution for the prediction of the house price in the King County, Washington.

Surveying methods and instruments for heritage properties, using decision tree and Artificial Neural network analysis

AbstractThis paper demonstrates the application of surveying methodologies aiding the management of heritage properties, especially for UNESCO World Heritage sites. The objective of the current study is to provide an overview of the historical background of surveying a particular field of engineering and the related social environment. In Europe, all types of historic streets and avenues share a centuries-long common history. Investments financed by governments, capital or residential sources relating to these streets have provided opportunities for interesting architectural experiments. This study demonstrates the intensity of these investments and the morphological and functional changes in relation to their distance from the CBD. To achieve this objective, based on an on-line database of housing features and values, apartments (n = 1,031) from the range of Residential Real Estates in Teréz Town Budapest were collected. Data statistics tools included a Decision Tree and an Artificial Multi-layer Neural Network employed in order to analyse inequalities in price according to the condition of the property and available conveniences. The characteristics of monocentricity/polycentricity are shown to be adaptable elements that have been used historically in urban landscapes and can be implemented in urban design to enhance green spaces and improve the overall quality of urban life. As good examples, the Andrássy/Hübner - Court and the ICOMOS prize-winning renovation of the Wahrmann Palace are presented. Real estate can carry both real and philosophical meaning. Sometimes buildings express physical reality in the environment, at others, they have a symbolic meaning, e. g. an urban idyll, harmony with the habitat, local community, heritage property, wealth or poverty, integration or segregation of people or families. Functional changes support long-term decision-making for investors and city residents in search for better locations within global cityscapes.

Social Value Measurement of the Social Housing Supply Case ‘Cheongchun 101’ Based on the Social Return on Investment (SROI) Analysis

Social housing has been introduced as a new residential model to address the limitations of Korean public rental housing policy and the burden of housing costs for middle and low-income families. Social housing is a private rental house that is supplied, operated, and managed by social economic agencies. Starting with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, local governments are also expanding their supply support by creating related regulations. Social housing added social values such as making residential communities, connecting with local communities, securing housing quality, providing safety, and creating jobs to the nature of existing public rental housing. Therefore, this study aims to prove the supply effect of ‘Cheongchun 101’, a women’s safe social housing supplied by Jeonju City, by measuring the return on social investment (SROI), a social value measurement method. Through this study, it is believed that it will be a starting point for stakeholders such as local governments and social economic agencies to participate in the supply of social housing for citizens’ housing stability. In addition, this study is meaningful in that it is the first study to quantitatively evaluate the social value of social housing by using SROI, and it is expected that follow-up studies will be conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of social housing supply by utilizing various social value evaluation and measurement methods.

Gentrifying with family wealth: Parental gifts and neighbourhood sorting among young adult owner-occupants

This paper assesses the role of parental gifts in neighbourhood sorting among young adult homebuyers. We make use of high-quality individual-level registry data for two large urban metropolitan areas in the Netherlands. While previous studies have shown that young adults receiving gifts purchase more expensive housing, little is known about the role of gifts in where young adults buy. Our study finds that parental gifts flow into the housing market in a spatially-uneven way. Movers supported by substantial parental gifts are more likely to enter owner-occupied housing in high-status and gentrifying urban neighbourhoods compared to movers without gifts. This study shows that this can only partially be explained by household and parental characteristics and by the uneven distribution of housing values. The remaining effect suggests that parental gifts also play a role in trade-offs regarding spatial residential decision-making. The conclusion discusses the ramifications of our findings for debates on (re)production of class and intra-generational inequalities through housing, and provides avenues for further research.

Externalities in the wildland-urban interface: Private decisions, collective action, and results from wildfire simulation models for California.

Property damage from wildfires occurs from spread into built-up areas, the wildland-urban interface. Fire spread occurs as embers from one burning structure ignite neighboring ones-but mitigation reduces the chances that fire spreads. In this study, we use a simulation model with realistic parameters for a neighborhood in California to illustrate patterns of marginal benefit from mitigation. We extend existing models of fire spread in two novel ways. We show how to describe the no-regulation equilibrium and social optimal levels of mitigation by incorporating data on a key factor, the distribution of house values in the community. We incorporate insurance in the model and show that it improves homeowner decision-making and insurance premium regulation. The fire spread simulations show that under plausible parameter values, there is a pattern in which mitigation's marginal benefit is low at low levels of community mitigation, rises to a maximum, and then falls quickly to a low level. We argue that the maximum marginal benefit is a guide to achieving optimal mitigation in a community. Owner mitigation decisions will depend on the distribution of house values in the neighborhood and other factors. In an illustration, we use the distribution of house values in a California community to illustrate the mitigation owners will choose under independent (Nash) investment decisions, and the efficiency-improving actions involving regulations or insurance premium subsidies that can lead to the social optimum.

Semen quality and seminal plasma metabolites in male rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) under heat stress.

Heat stress causes infertility in male rabbits in summer. This study was conducted to determine the effects of heat stress on semen quality and seminal plasma metabolites of male rabbits. To achieve these objectives, the temperature and humidity index (THI) was used to determine the stress state of male rabbits during different months, thereby the rabbits were divided into heat stress and no heat stress groups. The quality of the semen and the biochemical indices of seminal plasma were then analyzed. Next the plasma metabolites of rabbits in both groups were evaluated using the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (UPLC-MS)/MS technique. Our results showed that the THI value of the rabbit housing in May was 20.94 (no heat stress). The THI value of the housing in August was 29.10 (heat stress group, n = 10). Compared with the non-heat stress group, the sperm motility, density, and pH in the heat stress group (n = 10) were significantly decreased (P < 0.01); the semen volume decreased significantly (P < 0.05); and the sperm malformation rate increased significantly (P < 0.01). The number of grade A sperm significantly decreased, while the numbers of B and C grade sperm significantly increased (P < 0.01). The total sperm output (TSO), total motile sperm (TMS), and total functional sperm fraction (TFSF) decreased significantly (P < 0.01). Heat stress protein 70 (HSP70) and acid phosphatase (ACP) in the seminal plasma of rabbits in the heat stress group (n = 20) were significantly increased (P < 0.01). Seminal plasma testosterone (T), α-glucosidase (α-Glu), and fructose decreased significantly (P < 0.01). The concentrations of Mg2+ (P < 0.05), Na+ (P < 0.01), and K+ (P < 0.01) in metal ions were significantly decreased. These findings indicated that heat stress severely affected the quality of the male rabbit semen. Furthermore, UPLC-MS/MS technology was used to analyze the seminal plasma samples of rabbits in the heat stress group and non-heat stress group (n = 9 for each group). In total, 346 metabolites were identified, with variable importance in project (VIP) > 1.0, fold change (FC) > 1.5 or < 0.667, and P < 0.05 as the threshold. A total of 71 differential metabolites were matched, including stearic acid, betaine, arachidonic acid, L-malic acid, and indole. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of differential metabolites revealed 51 metabolic pathways, including synthesis and degradation of ketones, serine and threonine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, and the citric acid cycle. Our study has shown that the sperm motility, sperm pH value, and sperm density of male rabbits decreased significantly under heat stress, and the sperm malformation rate increased significantly. Furthermore, the quality of semen was shown to deteriorate and the energy metabolism pathway was disturbed. These findings provide a theoretical reference for alleviating the adaptive heat stress in male rabbits.

Do Multifamily unit Rents Increase in Response to Light Rail in the Pre-service Period?

The effects of transit investments on land and housing values are a longstanding topic of interest in part because the nature and timing of those effects are important for designing anti-displacement and land value capture strategies. For these reasons, we explore whether multifamily unit rents have increased in planned station areas before the Purple Line light rail project in Maryland is operational. We employ a difference-in-difference (DID) approach to explore this question and validate the DID results with a first difference approach. We find that rents for units located within one-half mile of anticipated stations did increase well before transit service is expected to begin, but only for units with two or more bedrooms. We suggest these results imply that anti-displacement and land value capture strategies are warranted and potentially viable, but to be effective they need to be adopted well before transit service begins. Further, our results suggest that in the case of the Purple Line in Maryland, such policies should focus on units located within one-half mile of proposed stations and concentrate on preserving affordable units with two or more bedrooms.

The neoliberal tenant dystopia: Digital polyplatform rentierism, the hybridization of platform-based rental markets and financialization of housing

Converting residential housing into short-term rentals (STRs), through platforms such as Airbnb, has become a very profitable business, and a tourist-led rentier class has been formed in connection with this activity. However, the pandemic stalled this process and STRs began to be listed on residential rental platforms. Our paper questions whether these STRs have actually returned to the residential market. Our research shows how the pandemic fostered what we term as the emergence of digital polyplatform rentierism through the hybridisation of rental markets. This process amplifies the exchange value of housing and the owners' future expectations of profits, enhancing the opportunities and means for the financialization of housing. For tenants, this model produces a neoliberal tenant dystopia: the supply of rental housing is reduced and the power dynamic between owners and tenants altered, with the former empowered and the latter weakened. Consequently, without stricter public policy to protect the right to housing and the right to live in the city, the platformisation of housing will result in less stable and less affordable rental prices, thereby fostering housing precarity and tenant impoverishment.

An experimental study for sustaining the architectural heritage value of traditional houses of Bursa

Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, is one of the rare historical cities that has survived to the present day without losing its importance. As well as monumental structures such as mosques and Sultan complexes, traditional Bursa houses are also components of architectural heritage that reflect the identity of the city. The traditional building materials of these houses are wood, stone, brick and earth. Today, these materials are known as ecological building materials and their use is very important to ensure sustainability. Especially the application of traditional building techniques based on the use of these materials in restoration works is of great importance in terms of ensuring sustainability not only from an ecological point of view, but also from economic and cultural points of view. In this context, earthen building material consisting of natural raw materials and created by human hands are seen as ecological and renewable building materials. In different parts of the world, many civilizations have used earthen building materials with different usage techniques in the past. This material has not lost its importance to this day. In this study, the earthen building materials used in traditional Bursa houses are examined and their role in sustainable architecture is pointed out. For this purpose, a case study was conducted on traditional Bursa houses in three different historic neighborhoods; Hisar, Tuzpazari and Reyhan regions. Representative earthen building materials were taken from 22 traditional houses and listed with their qualities for experimental studies. Characterization tests were carried out on the samples taken from these houses. The results of the experiments have been used to develop some recommendations for the successful implementation of restorations that will help to carry out sustainable heritage conservation work in Bursa.

Does the evidence match the rhetoric? Post-formalization land investments and credit access in Zambia: Cases from informal settlements in Lusaka City region

This study investigates land investments and credit access resulting from a land rights formalization initiative in the Lusaka city region, Zambia, through 302 household interviews, key informant interviews, satellite image analysis and focus group discussions. Results reveal that no more than 27% of respondents in Bauleni and 15% in Madido had mortgaged their houses to formal institutions despite a perceived increase in house values due to the legitimization of property ownership. There was no marked increase in access to formal credit but local informal saving and credit associations, with only 30% having accessed credit. The reported and observed increase in immovable land investments such as house structure expansions, fencing of property and renovations by respondents (78% in Madido and 65% in Bauleni) was attributed to the availability of finances and not land rights formalization per se. The importance of socio-economic and local cultural norms in accruing benefits from property ownership is underplayed by land rights formalization proponents. Therefore, while land tenure reforms remain necessary, they are not sufficient conditions for the urban poor to realize the espoused benefits of formalization - induced capital formation.

Gentrification and Air Quality in a Large Urban County in the United States

Introduction: Increases in industrialization and manufacturing have led to worsening pollution in some components of air quality. In addition, gentrification is occurring in large cities throughout the world. As these socioeconomic and demographic changes occur, there have been no studies examining the association of gentrification with air quality. To investigate this association, we studied the trends of gentrification, changes in racial distribution and changes in air quality in each zip code of a large urban county over a 40-year period. Methods: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study over 40 years in Wayne County, Michigan using socioeconomic and demographic data from the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) and air quality data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To assess gentrification, longitudinal analyses were performed to examine median household income, percentage with a college education, median housing value, median gross rent and employment level. The racial distribution was evaluated in each zip code during the time period. Gentrification was studied in relation to air quality using nonparametric 2-sample Wilcon-Mann-Whitney tests and Binomial Generalized Linear Regression models. Results: Although air quality improved overall over the 40-year period, there was a lesser rate of improvement in gentrified areas. Furthermore, gentrification was strongly associated with racial distribution. The most substantial gentrification occurred from 2010 to 2020, in which a specific cluster of adjacent zip codes in downtown Detroit experienced intense gentrification and a drop in the percentage of African-American residents. Conclusions: Gentrified areas seem to have a less pronounced improvement in air quality over time. This reduction in air quality improvement is likely associated with demolitions and the construction of new buildings, such as sporting arenas and accompanying traffic density. Gentrification is also strongly associated with an increase in non-minority residents in an area. Although previous definitions of gentrification in the literature have not included racial distribution, we suggest that future definitions should include this metric given the strong association. Minority residents who are displaced as a result of gentrification do not experience the improvements in housing quality, accessibility to healthy foods and other associations of gentrification.

Second-Hand House Valuation Based on Binomial Option Pricing Model

More and more families choose to buy the second-hand houses as their first house. Due to a high demand in second-hand housing market, there is a continuously rising trend in the price of second-hand houses. This article mainly focus on the valuation of second-hand housing in Chinese market, based on the binomial option pricing model. Besides valuing the second-hand houses as the American-style options, the time value is another important element in the pricing model. Based on the defined pricing model, the result of empirical analysis is that the estimation of current housing price has a difference from the actual transaction prices to some extent. It can be concluded that the current price of second-hand houses in Chinese market is far from reflecting the time value, and the time value of the second-hand houses is unable to be ignored in the future. It is hoped that there will be a more precise way to measure the value of time in the second-hand housing market specifically.

Points of Interest and Housing Prices

ABSTRACT Points of Interest (POI) are an inherent element of the urban landscape, and their number and density reflect, among other things, the degree of urbanization and the city’s spatial structure. The very presence of POI in the closest vicinity of a residential property may indirectly or directly affect housing value. This paper aims to demonstrate the usefulness of POI density information of different categories in assessing the quality of a property’s immediate surroundings. While the mere presence of POIs in the nearest neighborhood may affect real estate prices, the influence of specific categories may not necessarily be positive. Therefore, the study attempted to classify POIs and determine their importance in the price formation process using spatial regression models. The results indicate that a high density of POIs in the immediate area is a stimulant for housing prices. The detailed analysis indicated that only some POI categories might be related to transaction prices, while in certain situations, some POI categories may negatively impact prices.

Urban property markets and security risk: explaining how neighborhood security shapes housing rental prices in Ojo Lagos, Nigeria

PurposeWhile the declining rate of urban security and its potential effects have been globally acknowledged, the ways urban neighborhood security shapes real estate markets in African cities remain largely unexplained. The purpose of this paper therefore is to present the findings from a study of the nexus between urban neighborhood security and home rental prices in Lagos, Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on the hedonic price theory, an objectively derived urban neighborhood security index (UNSI) and property rental price data in Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria. This is a quantitative cross-sectional study that employs multistage sampling survey procedure. Data are analyzed using descriptive statistics, nonparametric correlation and hedonic price function with ordinary least squares (OLS).FindingsResults show that nearly 50% of the study area is prone to insecurity and average rental values in Ojo, Lagos range from N151329.41 ($302.66) to N167333.33 ($334.67) per annum. Correlation analysis shows that home rental prices have high, positive and significant correlations (rs = 0.725 and p < 0) with UNSI. After controlling for neighborhood and structural factors, it is found that urban neighborhood security positively influences home rental values as a unit improvement in security leads to N81000.00 ($162.00) increase in rental value per annum.Practical implicationsUrban neighborhood security risk threatens residential property values, creates unintended residential mobility and destabilizes families. Findings from this study point to the facts that security is a key component of urban housing values and developers, and real estate investors must ensure that this component is well factored into property design, construction and valuation.Originality/valueThis is perhaps the first study that uses an objectively derived UNSI to study home rental price dynamics in Nigeria. The study extends knowledge on urban housing price determinants and contributes to literature on the crucial place of security in property management.

House Prices Advanced Regression Techniques

Abstract: The real estate industry is seeing an increase in the use of data mining. The capacity of data mining to extricate helpful data from crude information makes it especially helpful for anticipating home estimations, essential housing characteristics, and a great many different elements. Homeowners and the real estate industry frequently feel anxious about price swings, according to research. The most useful models and important criteria for predicting home values are examined in a literature review. The adoption of Random Forest and XGBoost as the most effective models in comparison to others was confirmed by this study's findings. Additionally, our data suggest that locational and structural characteristics are significant forecasting variables for housing values. In order to identify the most effective machine learning model for conducting a study in this field and the most significant factors that influence home prices, this study will be very helpful, particularly to housing developers and academics.

Development of a Housing Choice Behavior Program for Middle-School Home Economics to Cultivate Housing Value Orientation

The purpose of this study was to develop a housing choice behavior program to cultivate housing value orientation among middle-school students. The importance of cultivating housing value orientation in middle school was examined by investigating the relationship between housing value orientation and housing choice behavior, following which a program was developed to cultivate housing value orientation based on various housing values. Housing choice behavior was defined as selecting the ownership type, housing type, housing size, and neighborhood environment of housing, and the program was developed in 12 sessions to understand housing values and cultivate housing value orientation through learning housing choice behavior. The features of this program were as follows. First, although housing choice behavior is not covered in middle-school home economics, the 2015 revised national curriculum and current middle-school textbooks were analyzed and developed in consideration of the level available in schools. Second, it was possible to develop a housing value orientation that encompasses various housing values, including activities used to consider such values as the basis for housing choice behavior by each sessions. Third, the program was meaningful in that it developed practical problem-solving and living independence skills through learning activities, including available sites, experience cases, and housing welfare that cannot be experienced directly or indirectly.