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Land
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The Price of Land: Unpacking Land Valuation and Land Markets
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The Price of Land: Unpacking Land Valuation and Land Markets

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 896

Editors

Dr. Marta Czaplicka

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Socio-Economic Geography, Institute of Spatial Management and Geography, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Interests: geospatial analyses; geographic information systems (GIS); socio-economic geography and land management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marek Walacik

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Real Estate and Urban Studies, Institute of Spatial Management and Geography, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Interests: land valuation and property appraisal; mass appraisal and automated valuation models (AVMs); spatial econometrics in land and property markets; land market analysis and regulation; integration of geospatial and administrative data in valuation; sustainable and policy-driven property valuation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Aneta Chmielewska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Real Estate and Urban Studies, Institute of Spatial Management and Geography, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Interests: land development and land management; land use planning and spatial policy; spatial determinants of land prices; GIS applications in land market analysis; planning impacts on land values; sustainable urban development and accessibility
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Land values are shaped by institutions, laws, property rights, infrastructure, environmental amenities and risks, demographic and socio-economic change, and unequal access to markets. At the same time, rapid advances in geospatial data, remote sensing, and GIS-based modelling create new opportunities to observe, explain, and anticipate land price dynamics from parcels and neighbourhoods to regions and nations.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect original research articles and review papers that provide insights into how land is valued, how land markets operate, and how valuation practices influence land management and spatial justice. We welcome original research and review papers that connect land valuation to the broader scope of Land, including land use change, land management, spatial planning, land modelling, and data processing. Particular emphasis will be placed on geospatial analyses, GIS, and socio-economic geography, including approaches that integrate administrative data, open geodata, and spatial econometrics. We also encourage submissions that address how land prices intersect with inclusive urban agendas (such as age-friendly city planning) through housing affordability, accessibility to services, green infrastructure, and healthy environments.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

  • Land valuation methods and mass appraisal;
  • Spatial determinants of land prices;
  • Land market regulation and planning impacts;
  • Accessibility and amenity valuation;
  • Equity, displacement and spatial justice;
  • GIS/remote sensing workflows for land price mapping and monitoring.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Marta Czaplicka
Dr. Marek Walacik
Dr. Aneta Chmielewska
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • land valuation
  • land markets
  • GIS
  • spatial econometrics
  • mass appraisal
  • land management
  • urban planning and zoning
  • accessibility and amenities

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 444 KB  
Article
Social Connection Strength and Formal Rental Stipulation in Farmland Transfer Contracts: Evidence from Rural China
by Jiao Long and Mingyong Hong
Land 2026, 15(6), 937; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15060937 - 29 May 2026
Viewed by 164
Abstract
Formally stipulating rental terms in farmland transfer contracts is essential to safeguarding transacting parties’ rights, anchoring market price signals, and underpinning the rule-based governance of rural land markets. Drawing on survey data from 1496 rural households across three Chinese provinces, this study empirically [...] Read more.
Formally stipulating rental terms in farmland transfer contracts is essential to safeguarding transacting parties’ rights, anchoring market price signals, and underpinning the rule-based governance of rural land markets. Drawing on survey data from 1496 rural households across three Chinese provinces, this study empirically examines how connection strength between transacting parties shapes the decision to formally stipulate rental terms in farmland transfer contracts. Baseline estimates show that greater connection strength is significantly and negatively associated with the probability of formal rental term stipulation, a pattern robust to alternative model specifications and variable operationalizations. Mechanism analysis reveals that stronger connections inhibit formal stipulation by concurrently heightening reputational constraints among parties suppressing demand for formal enforcement mechanisms and attenuating perceived transactional risk, which erodes the perceived value of the risk-bounding function that written clauses provide. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that this inhibitory effect is concentrated among ordinary farm household transfers and disappears among new-type agricultural business entities, where institutional rationality crowds out connection-based governance logic. Beyond its direct effect on contract formalization, greater connection strength indirectly undermines the price-anchoring function of written agreements, exposing realized rents to systematic connection-based discounting. These findings carry direct implications for the demand-side redesign of contract formalization policy and the development of county-level rental price guidance systems in rural China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Price of Land: Unpacking Land Valuation and Land Markets)
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24 pages, 381 KB  
Article
Polycentric Spatial Structure, Urban Scale, and Land Prices: Evidence from Prefecture-Level Cities in China
by Xiaomei Lian, Xinyue Feng, Tao Liu and Shasha Huang
Land 2026, 15(5), 755; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15050755 - 29 Apr 2026
Viewed by 360
Abstract
In recent years, local governments in China have actively promoted new district development, encouraging a transition from monocentric to polycentric urban form. Whether and how this spatial restructuring is reflected in government-mediated land grant prices, however, remains unsettled. Using LandScan population grids and [...] Read more.
In recent years, local governments in China have actively promoted new district development, encouraging a transition from monocentric to polycentric urban form. Whether and how this spatial restructuring is reflected in government-mediated land grant prices, however, remains unsettled. Using LandScan population grids and Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), this paper measures the polycentric spatial structure of 283 prefecture-level cities in China. We merge this measure with city-level land transaction data to examine how polycentricity affects overall urban land prices as well as industrial, residential, and commercial land prices. The results show that a more polycentric urban structure significantly increases comprehensive land prices. Across land-use categories, the effect is smallest for industrial land and stronger for residential and commercial land. Further analysis shows that land-finance dependence moderates the effect of polycentric urban spatial structure on land prices, and this moderating effect differs across land-use types. In addition, the positive effect of polycentricity is weaker in larger cities. Spatial econometric estimates further suggest that local polycentricity raises land prices in neighboring cities, implying the presence of positive spillovers across urban areas. The paper contributes to the literature on urban spatial structure by linking intra-urban polycentricity to land price and by showing that these effects extend beyond city boundaries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Price of Land: Unpacking Land Valuation and Land Markets)
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Review

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27 pages, 2777 KB  
Review
Contaminated Sites and Real Estate Values: Insights from the Literature
by Pierluigi Morano, Felicia Di Liddo and Francesca Fariello
Land 2026, 15(7), 1121; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15071121 (registering DOI) - 24 Jun 2026
Abstract
The present contribution provides a systematic review of the international scientific literature on the relationship between contaminated sites and real estate market dynamics. The objective is to investigate whether and to what extent the presence of environmental risk sources—both active or decommissioned—affects the [...] Read more.
The present contribution provides a systematic review of the international scientific literature on the relationship between contaminated sites and real estate market dynamics. The objective is to investigate whether and to what extent the presence of environmental risk sources—both active or decommissioned—affects the value of surrounding residential properties. In particular, the review is focused on an examination of the methods commonly used in relevant studies to measure, interpret, and represent this impact across different geographical contexts, identifying the main magnitude ranges found in the selected contributions. Several studies consistently confirm a statistically significant negative relationship between proximity to polluting sites and real estate values, although the relevance of this effect varies considerably across case studies. Other records highlight non-notable impacts or even positive effects following remediation and redevelopment interventions. The evidence suggests that this relationship is complex and influenced by factors such as site type, contamination severity, specificities of the local urban context and community perception. Moreover, the findings underscore regional variations in the extent and nature of price impacts, reflecting diverse regulatory frameworks and remediation efforts. The outcomes of the literature review provide a robust foundation for developing more effective evaluation tools able to support decision-making processes, enabling policymakers, planners, and investors to promote sustainable urban regeneration, improve environmental justice, and reduce spatial inequalities. Ultimately, this study highlights the critical need for integrating environmental, social, and economic dimensions to fully capture the multifaceted effects of contaminated sites on property markets, thereby orienting more informed and equitable urban development strategies worldwide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Price of Land: Unpacking Land Valuation and Land Markets)
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