Value Of Single-family Homes Research Articles

The Impact of Selected Aesthetic Building Restrictions on Georgia’s Single-Family Housing Markets

This paper analyzes the economic impact that selected “look and feel” or aesthetic building restrictions have on housing prices and housing availability in Georgia counties. We model the median value of homes using ordinary least squares, and as a robustness check, we also use a partial least squares structural equations model. We also estimate a supply of housing, as measured by single family housing permits, using a negative binomial regression. We find that aesthetic building restrictions do not have a statistically significant impact on the value of single-family homes or their supply.

Holding back the storm: Dam capitalization in residential and commercial property values

Large-scale flooding is becoming increasingly common due to prolonged and intensive rainfall caused by climate change. Communities have mitigated this risk by building flood protection, though it is unclear whether residents are aware of these public works or the protection they confer. We provide insight on this matter by examining whether apartment, commercial, and single-family home values responded to the completion of the Gokayama Dam in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Using listing data between 2015 and 2019, we find apartments downstream from the Gokayama Dam experienced a 1.8% price increase relative to apartments in other floodplains after Typhoon Prapiroon hit western Japan and tested the dam. Renters used the natural disaster as a learning experience to update their perceptions of flood risk as opposed to the completion of the dam, suggesting a possible disconnect between perceptions of flood risk and objective risk. Higher price premiums are also observed in first floor units, units closer to rivers, and in areas where floodwaters are expected to exceed 2 m, while rental units designed as temporary housing received no premium. Finally, we find the capitalized gains from the apartment rental market are small in comparison to premiums paid by homeowners and commercial renters, where prices increased by 11.7% and 9.2% respectively. Taken altogether, the Gokayama Dam provides $146.5 million in downstream benefits each year, though it is unclear how long these price effects will last.

How do single-family homeowners value residential and commercial density? It depends

This paper develops estimates of the relationship between local density and single-family home values using 2017 transactions for five U.S. metropolitan regions: Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Seattle. Proposals to build new commercial and residential development projects that would increase local density commonly face opposition from local homeowners. Academic literature links the response from homeowners to concerns that higher density is associated with lower property values but there is limited empirical evidence establishing this relationship at the local level. We find a positive and significant relationship between density and house value in the core area of the five metropolitan regions we analyze. Within 7.5 miles of the center of these metropolitan regions, a 10% increase in surrounding built area density is associated with a 1.1–1.9% increase in house prices per square foot. For outlying areas, the estimates are smaller and even negative in several cases. We instrument density based on topographic and soil characteristics and find similar results. These findings point to the need for a more nuanced discussion of the relationship between local density and housing values.

Examining the effects of green infrastructure on residential sales prices in Omaha, Nebraska

Green infrastructure (GI), practices consisting of using vegetation and soil to manage stormwater runoff (e.g., rain gardens, vegetated roofs, bioswales, etc.), has been adopted by cities across the world to help address aging water infrastructure, water quality, excess water quantity, and urban planning needs. Although GI’s contribution to stormwater control and management has been extensively studied, the economic value of its benefits is less known. In Omaha, NE, GI projects have been completed in several public parks. Using a repeat-sales model based on 2000–2018 housing data, we examined the effect of GI on the value of single-family homes within various buffer distances of parks where GI was installed. After controlling for changes associated with home deterioration and renovation, non-stationary location effects, and time-invariant characteristics, we did not find any statistically significant relationships between housing values and GI. This finding is consistent with the notion that homeowners place little value on modifications to existing greenspace, but may also stem from homeowners’ lack of familiarity with GI practices or data limitations.

The association between residential housing prices, bicycle infrastructure and ridership volumes

City officials and planners have shown increased interest in pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly designs aimed at addressing urban problems such as traffic congestion, pollution, sprawl and housing availability. An important planning consideration is the economic impact associated with existing or planned infrastructure, especially in relation to home property values. In this study, we use measures of infrastructure and ridership to evaluate the relationship between bicycling infrastructure and activity and single-family home values in Tempe, Arizona. We apply a hedonic modelling approach and find that bicycle infrastructure density is positively associated with home sale price, while ridership density around home locations has no significant relationship with sale price. Our results inform discourse related to the potential economic values of residential bicycle infrastructure, especially in areas where property tax is a source of local public finance revenue. We show that the characteristics of bicycle-friendly design may be the same characteristics valued by homebuyers and the resulting increased home sale values may lead to increased property tax revenue in Tempe, Arizona.

Amenity, accessibility and housing values in metropolitan USA: A study of Salt Lake County, Utah

Negative amenities, such as air pollutions, have plagued many rapidly growing cities. However, researchers have not comprehensively examined their effects on housing values and on the local economy. These effects may be spatially auto-correlated with accessibility factors, differ in how they are dispersed over space and time, and have sizable localized effects. In this study, we use the assessed property value data and hedonic pricing models to examine consumers' underlying preferences for various amenities and accessibility factors in Salt Lake County, with a particular focus on air pollutions and forest coverage. Three models are used to address the problem of special and temporal heterogeneity. Results from ordinary least squares (OLS) regression show that single-family home values are affected not only by structural attributes, but also by urban amenities and accessibility factors such as air pollution, forest coverage, quality of public schools, and commuting cost. After controlling the covariates in spatial lag regression (SLR), we find that air pollutions and the lack of forest coverage have a significant and detrimental effect on housing values over time. Finally, results from geographically weighted regression (GWR) indicate that spatial heterogeneity is evident and that the forest coverage has more positive influences in the east side of Salt Lake County, while the negative effect of air pollutions is less pronounced on housing values in the southeast. However, air pollutions and forest cover matter irrespective of the method used.

Town and Gown: The Negative Externality of a University on Housing Prices

This study of the City of Whitewater housing market analyzes the impact of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus on single-family home values from 2000 through 2011. The study utilizes geos...

Measuring the impact of sub-urban transit-oriented developments on single-family home values

This paper provides evidence on the impact of a sub-urban transit-oriented development (TOD) on surrounding single-family home prices. Using a dataset that inventories single-family home sale transactions surrounding Ohlone Chenyoweth TOD in San Jose, CA, the paper employs hedonic regression to estimate the effect of the TOD on home prices.Controlling for the effects of the distance from the light rail line, the station and other transportation facilities, the impact of the TOD on home sale prices is statistically significant at p=0.10 level, with an average home sale price increase of $21,000 (or 3.2%) for every 50% reduction in the distance between the home and the TOD. Further, the paper finds that the TOD’s price effect dissipates after 1/8 mile. Finally, housing prices within 1/8 mile of the TOD were 18.5% higher than the prices more than 1/8 mile from the TOD during the post-TOD construction period; 7.3% higher during the TOD construction period and not statistically different in the pre-TOD construction period.

House prices and city revenues

Very little is known about what impact recent large upward and downward swings in single-family home values have had on local government budgets. Using a unique 15-year panel of Florida cities that includes both detailed revenue and house price data, we investigate the pathways whereby a change in house price may affect city revenue per capita and test for symmetric effects during housing booms and busts. For the median-sized city, we find that while increases in house price raise revenues, decreases in price have no effect on revenues. In addition, the former impact is small in magnitude. While the strongest pathway is through assessed values, our results illustrate that a change in house price can also affect other sources of revenue besides ad valorem taxes. The overall conclusion is that movements in Florida housing markets are only weakly related to a city's property taxes and total revenues per capita, which fails to support the argument portrayed in the popular press that house price changes strongly impact local budgets.

Property values on the plains: the impact of historic preservation

We provide an estimate of the impact of historic designation on the sale price of single-family homes in Lincoln, Nebraska neighborhoods. We contribute to the literature by measuring the impact of historic designation using sale prices rather than assessed values, and by utilizing time series, cross-section data with both pre-designation and post-designation observations. The entire sample is used to estimate a difference-in-difference model which shows that historic designation yields a $5,000 increase in the value of single-family homes in the period after designation. A sub-sample of houses with repeat sales is used to estimate a repeat sales model, which shows that designation does not impact appreciation rates.

Neighbourhood Valuation Effects from New Construction of Low-income Housing Tax Credit Projects in Iowa: A Natural Experiment

This paper estimates the valuation effects from new construction of low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects on neighbouring single-family homes in Polk County, Iowa. The evaluative models estimate the impact from LIHTC project locations on assessed values using a 1999—2007 panel of neighbours and their matches, while controlling for unobserved heterogeneity. The results suggest that the siting of new low-rise, concentrated low-income LIHTC projects is associated with a 2—4 per cent slower rate of nearby single-family home valuation and that these effects persisted for five or more years after project approval. On the other hand, no clear valuation effect is detected when the LIHTC project is high quality and targeted to mixed-income groups. It is also found that new construction LIHTC projects serving the elderly, including assisted living, are associated with a 2—4 per cent faster rate of growth in neighbouring single-family home values, although the acceleration appears to be short lived. It is concluded that concentrating low-income renters in subsidised housing projects has negative consequences for neighbouring property values that might be avoided with tenant income mixing and improved site planning and design.

Impacts of Bus Rapid Transit Stations on Surrounding Single-Family Home Values: Study of East Busway in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The development of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems is relatively recent in the United States; however, several systems are operating and many more are being planned. More comprehensive understanding is needed of the relationship between land use and BRT, particularly in comparison with other fixed-guideway modes. This paper describes an effort to quantify the impacts of BRT stations on the values of surrounding single-family homes. The hypothesis is that BRT stations have an impact on property value that is commensurate with rail transit projects, considering the level and permanence of services and facilities. To test that hypothesis, a hedonic regression model was used to estimate the impact of distance to a BRT station on the fair market value of single-family homes. Because many BRT systems operating in the United States may be too new to find evidence of capitalization into property values, data from East Busway, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of the oldest operating BRT systems in the country, was used. Decreasing marginal effects were found: moving from 101 to 100 ft from a station increases property value approximately $18.90; moving from 1,001 to 1,000 ft increases property value by approximately $2.71. The results shown in this paper are valid only for the data used in Pittsburgh's case. As more BRT systems continue to operate in the United States, this method should be applied to other cities and other types of properties to gain a better understanding of the general impacts of proximity to BRT.

Hybrid Geoinformatic-Statistical Analysis for Assessing Single-Family-Home Values: the Case of College Station, Texas

This study investigates the impact of certain residential development elements on the value of single-family homes (SFH) within an urban setting. Development elements such as gatedness, level of amenity, and size and proximity of nearest city-park were investigated. Appraisals of SFH in the City of College Station, Texas; and market values and other SFH’s multiple listing services data for approximately 1326 randomly distributed SFH’s are utilized as the database for this study. The methodology of this research integrates traditional econometric techniques used in value analysis, namely the hedonic price function, with cutting edge geoinformatic technology. Automated spatial analysis tools offered efficient and accurate generation, validation, manipulation, and assessment of development variables. Furthermore, resolution of spatial autocorrelation encountered in statistical analysis was facilitated using residual mapping processes along with traditional residual plots and other statistical remedies. Findings indicate that the power of the hybrid geoinformatic-statistical model in analyzing, explaining, and presenting change in real estate value is significant. Furthermore, findings indicate that gatedness of a development has a higher positive impact on home values in such a development than the level of amenities provided, e.g. trails, playgrounds, common greens, etc.

A Housing Price Model with Endogenous Externality Location: A Study of Mobile Home Parks

This research explores the impact of mobile home parks on the value of single-family homes. This is the first study that empirically analyzes the effect of mobile home parks on property values. The empirical methodology used attempts to address the potential identification problem that exists within this study; it is possible that mobile home parks are located in areas of relatively lower land values or next to other land uses that impact property values. To address this identification problem, mobile home park locations are treated as endogenous within the model and the mobile home parks are identified as being located in residential or non-residential areas. The results suggest a negative effect on the selling price of single-family dwellings in close proximity to mobile home parks located in residential areas.

Measuring the Impact of Light Rail Systems on Single-Family Home Values: A Hedonic Approach with Geographic Information System Application

In theory, proximity to light rail transit (LRT) may have two different effects on residential property values. On the one hand, accessibility (proximity to LRT stations) may increase property values. On the other hand, nuisance effects (proximity to the LRT line and stations) may decrease property values. Existing empirical studies are inconclusive, and failure to separate the effects of accessibility from the nuisance effects may explain some of the ambiguity. An examination is presented of the impact of the light rail system (MAX) in Portland, Oregon, on single-family home values using distance to rail stations as a proxy for accessibility and distance to the line itself as a proxy for nuisance effects. Geographic information system techniques are employed to create spatial-related variables and merge data from various sources. The study results confirm the hypothesis that the light rail has both a positive effect (accessibility effect) and a negative effect (nuisance effect) on single-family home values. The positive effect dominates the negative effect, which implies a declining price gradient as one moves away from LRT stations for several hundred meters. Without controlling for the nuisance effect of the distance to the rail line, the estimated coefficients on distance from stations appear to be biased and would underestimate the accessibility effect. The finding of an independent nuisance effect suggests that previous hedonic models may have reached contradictory results because the nuisance effect differs with different types of rail or other local characteristics.

Community Environment, Zoning, and the Market Value of Single-Family Homes

Community Environment, Zoning, and the Market Value of Single-Family Homes