The Impact of Increased Density on Residential Property Values in Sydney, New South Wales

This paper investigates the impact of high-density development on low-density residential property values in Sydney, New South Wales (NSW). To do so, it conducts a literature review to ascertain the existing knowledge surrounding the study of property valuation and its economic and societal implications. Limitations within academia were identified and addressed as the objectives of this research. Subsequently, the key objective of this research is to “study the sociological factors dictating the attractiveness of low-density (LD) properties within proximity to high-density (HD) local characteristics.” In addressing this objective, research questions explore the interactions of an area’s local characteristics, its residents’ property types and the perceptions surrounding these interactions. This research studies property value through the lens of market perceptions, as the price of land is a basic indicator of the attractiveness, economic value and amenities accessible to a specific site. Through this seminal understanding, the research methodology was formed in which a questionnaire was completed by Sydney residents, providing data for analysis and discussion. The primary research question determines that “low-density residents perceive high-density local characteristics to be attractive”. Through this determination and its associated discussion, this study proposes that ‘if high-density local characteristics are able to be utilised by low-density properties, low-density residents will consider these properties to be more valuable’.

Transport infrastructure, accessibility and residential property values: evidence from Hong Kong

PurposeHong Kong, like many other developed cities and countries, invests heavily in transport development. This study investigates whether the speculative benefits of future improvements in accessibility, brought about by impending transport development, will be capitalized into nearby residential property values even prior to the opening of the development.Design/methodology/approachDeviating from the standard hedonic price approach, the present study employed a fixed-effects model with a large data set of residential property transactions in the vicinity of three-stations situated along a newly proposed mass-transit-railway line in Hong Kong.FindingsThe results suggest that the values of residential properties close to stations do reflect the accessibility enhancements to be brought about by transport improvements even before the opening of the line. Results revealed a 6.5% of property value premium after the announcement of construction; and higher up to 6.7% after the operation of the line. This indicates that forthcoming new transport-infrastructure development produces changes in spatial price-gradients for neighbouring residential properties. Findings indicate that potential buyers/investors recognized the positive benefits of the planned transportation development, even before completion of the project, and are ready to pay a premium for those properties close to railway stations, representing clear evidence that residential property prices/values, near stations, reflect anticipated accessibility enhancements brought about by transport improvements.Originality/valueThis study, using a novel approach – a fixed-effects model to capture the speculative benefits of future improvements in transport infrastructure – provides a positive hypothesis that expected benefits of future improvements in accessibility are capitalized into property values.

Lie symmetry analysis of the effects of urban infrastructures on residential property values

Due to the complexity of socio-economic-related issues, people thought of housing market as a chaotic nucleus situated at the intersection of neighboring sciences. It has been known that the dependence of house features on the residential property value can be estimated employing the well-established hedonic regression analysis method in teams of location characteristic, neighborhood characteristic and structure characteristic. However, to further assess the roles of urban infrastructures in housing markets, we proposed a new kind of volatility measure for house prices utilizing the Lie symmetry analysis of quantum theory based on Schrödinger equation, mainly focusing on the effects of transportation systems and public parks on residential property values. Based on the municipal open government data regularly collected for four cities, including Boston, Milwaukee, Taipei and Tokyo, and all spatial sampling sites were featured by United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Map, transportation and park were modelled as perturbations to the quantum states generated by the feature space in response to the environmental amenities with different spatial extents. In an attempt to ascertain the intrinsic impact of the location-dependent price information obtained, the similarity functions associated with the Schrödinger equation were considered to facilitate revealing the city amenities capitalizing into house prices. By examining the spatial spillover phenomena of house prices in the four cities investigated, it was found that the mass transit systems and the public green lands possessed the infinitesimal generators of Lie point symmetries Y2 and Y5, respectively. Compared statistically with the common performance criteria, including mean absolute error (MAE), mean squared error (MSE) and, root mean squared error (RMSE) obtained by hedonic pricing model, the Lie symmetry analysis of the Schrödinger equation approach developed herein was successfully carried out. The invariant-theoretical characterizations of economics-related phenomena are consonant with the observed residential property values of the cities internationally, ultimately leading to develop a new perspective in the global financial architecture.

Impact of light rail line on residential property values – a case of Sydney, Australia

Purpose The construction of new transportation infrastructure tends to affect the adjoining properties, economy and environment. In particular, studies have investigated the change in the value of properties due to increased access to transportation facilities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the recently completed light rail on residential property values in Sydney, Australia. Design/methodology/approach Sales data of residential properties was extracted from the CoreLogic’s RP database. The hedonic pricing model was used to assess the effect of proximity to the light rail stops. Two models were developed for the announcement and construction phases of the light rail project. Findings It was found that during the announcement phase, properties located within the 400 m radius from the station were 3.3% more expensive than those within the 400–800 radius. At the construction stage, the properties within the 0–400 m radius from the stops sold at 3.1% more than those within the 400–800 m radius. This study concludes that a positive relationship exists between the values of residential property and proximity to light rail stations. Practical implications These findings would be useful for policymakers to develop land value capture programs for infrastructure funding and to real estate professionals and investors for investment in future transit-oriented development. Originality/value Previous studies that aimed at examining the impact of light rails on residential properties values around universities are limited. Hence, this study provides a broad perspective on the impact of light rail on residential properties values.

How Does Residential Property Market React to Flood Risk in Flood-Prone Regions? A Case Study in Nagoya City

To quantify the flood risk awareness of real estate market participants and residents, previous studies analyzed the effect of flood risks on residential property values. However, most studies focused on the impact of recent flood events and the publication of new flood risk information; the behavior in flood-prone regions in which repeated damages occurred and lessons learned consequently has not been the focus of analysis. Moreover, there is a growing national concern in Japan about an increase in future flood risks due to climate change, although their effect on property values has not been discussed. In this study, we analyzed residential property values in Nagoya City (Aichi Prefecture, Japan), a megacity that has experienced significant flood damage in major historical and recent floods. The main objective of this study is to determine the effects of past and recent flood experiences and the increasing concerns about flood risks on recent residential property values. The results revealed that historical flood damage had the largest impact on residential property values in Nagoya City, and devaluation increased due to growing concerns about natural disasters in Japan. The disclosure of flood risk information also had an impact on property values, increasing devaluation after disclosure. On the contrary, the occurrence of recent floods did not have an impact on property values, suggesting that flood risk awareness had already been strong in the target area. These findings are different from those of many previous studies. The observed trends in residential property values in the target area are likely a characteristic response in flood-prone regions, where flood risk awareness is enhanced due to repeated flood damage.

The impact of urban light rail transit on double-story terraced property values in the Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Introducing a rail transit system into an urban region is expected to increase land values, and subsequently, residential property values. Despite this general belief, there has been limited research on the impact of proximity to urban light rail transit stations in developing countries setting. This study, therefore, investigates the impact of proximity to urban light rail transit on double-story terraced property values in the Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, using hedonic pricing model. The findings suggest urban light rail transit has a positive and significant impact on surrounding double-story terraced residential property values – estimated at a premium of 12.3% and 9.8% for properties located up to 1000 m and 1001 – 2000 m to the nearest light rail transit station respectively. The findings of the study are useful for investors and developers, namely to build more houses near urban rail transit infrastructure since they lead to significant appreciation in value.