Search Results (79)

Why are essential workers (also known as key workers) priced out of the urban areas where essential services are concentrated? This paper addresses that question by linking residential sorting to the governance of land and housing markets in Auckland, New Zealand. Drawing on bid rent theory and motivated by Crane’s theoretical framework, this study examines how households trade off urban accessibility against housing costs with varying degrees of job location uncertainties and time pressure. The analysis uses the micro-level household data from Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ)’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) to examine how key-worker households position themselves within the city’s rental market relative to other working households. The results show a clear urban land rent gradient: rents fall with distance from the city centre. However, access to the central location is not evenly distributed across workers. Key workers, whose jobs are typically tied to more fixed workplaces, are more inclined to live farther from the city centre to lower housing costs. By contrast, workers facing tighter time constraints, especially those working longer hours, show a stronger preference for living near the CBD to improve work proximity and reduce commuting burdens. This pattern remains evident among private vehicle commuters, suggesting that time pressure, rather than transport mode alone, is an important factor shaping residential location choice. The paper argues that this is not simply a housing market outcome but also a land-governance problem. When central land values rise without corresponding housing options for key workers, cities risk pushing socially necessary labour towards peripheral areas. The findings highlight the need for land-use and housing interventions that improve the spatial match between where key workers live and where urban services are most needed. Full article

The rapid tourism development in the Municipality of Athens significantly impacts both the local economy and the daily lives of its residents. This study investigates the Social Carrying Capacity (SCC) of Athens by exploring the perceptions, experiences, and attitudes of local citizens and professionals towards the tourism phenomenon. A primary quantitative study was conducted between July and October 2024, utilising a structured online questionnaire based on a stratified random sampling method across the Municipal Communities of Athens, yielding 787 valid responses. The findings reveal a dichotomy in public perception: while the majority recognises the positive economic contributions of tourism—particularly in the catering and hospitality sectors—significant concerns are raised regarding negative socio-environmental impacts. The most severe consequence identified is the surge in housing costs and rent prices, predominantly driven by short-term rentals, followed by increased pressure on public infrastructure, cleanliness, and traffic congestion. Despite these challenges, a considerable portion of the respondents maintains a generally tolerant attitude towards visitors and believes there is still a margin for further tourism growth. The study concludes that to ensure sustainable urban tourism, policymakers must implement targeted strategies, including the regulation of short-term rentals and substantial investments in public infrastructure, thereby balancing economic benefits with residents’ quality of life. Full article

Housing markets display geographical linkages that contravene conventional regression assumptions; yet, Central and Eastern European towns are markedly underrepresented in spatial econometric research. This study provides a systematic spatial econometric analysis of Zagreb’s housing market. It looks at both asking sale and rental prices throughout the city’s 17 administrative districts. There are five model specifications used in the analysis: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Spatial Lag of X (SLX), Spatial Autoregressive Model (SAR), Spatial Error Model (SEM), and Spatial Durbin Model (SDM). The findings demonstrate significant positive spatial autocorrelation in both markets: Global Moran’s I = 0.29 (p = 0.007) for sales and 0.42 (p < 0.001) for rents. LISA analysis finds important groups of high-priced homes in the center districts and lower-priced homes on the edges. Spatial models significantly surpass OLS: SLX exhibits AIC enhancements of 9.90 (sales) and 20.20 (rentals), but SAR and SEM yield no enhancements, suggesting that local spillover effects from adjacent characteristics prevail over global spatial diffusion or correlated shocks. The higher Moran’s I and AIC gains in rental markets show that there are different spatial processes for different types of tenure. These results address a significant empirical deficiency in post-socialist housing research, illustrate that neglecting spatial dependencies may lead to biased estimates and reduced model performance, and furnish methodologically sound evidence that spatial econometric techniques are essential for accurate modeling for precise urban housing analysis in intermediate-sample scenarios. Policy implications stress the need to use spatial approaches in choices about property value, forecasting, and urban planning. Full article

We use the hedonic price model to measure the effect of school quality on apartment rent prices in Porto Alegre, Brazil. A spatial autoregressive regression (SAR) was employed due to the spatial nature of the data. We estimated the effect of school quality on apartment prices for public and private schools separately. The results shed light on the relation between school quality and apartment prices in a Global South context. We showed that both public and private school quality is valued in Porto Alegre house markets, although the effect is quite different for each type of school. For public schools, the major effect comes from the distance of the nearest schools. An increase in test scores by one standard deviation raises apartment rent prices by 2.7% for the whole city. However, this effect is bigger for some submarkets, reaching 11.6% for the distant suburbs. For private schools, the same effect occurs but for a larger distance radius. The same increase in average test score out to a 2 km distance from private schools raised the apartment price by 1.0%. Nevertheless, this effect reaches 6.6% in one specific submarket. Full article

Clarifying the residential space differentiation in urban fringe areas and its influencing factors are crucial for land use planning and sustainable urban development. This study investigates residential space differentiation and its influencing factors in the urban fringe area of Beijing from the perspective of housing rent. Utilizing multi-source data, including housing rent statistics from the China Real Estate Price Platform, remote sensing imagery, and POI big data, we employ the residential dissimilarity index for tenants, geographical detector, and MGWR model to analyze spatial patterns and driving mechanisms. The results show the following: (1) The residential space differentiation in the urban fringe area of Beijing is obvious, showing an “X”-shaped fragmentation pattern, with the northeast and southwest regions forming high differentiation values, while the northwest and southeast regions form low differentiation values. (2) The residential space differentiation in the marginal area shows a strong scale effect, which originates from the historic “collage” development mode of Beijing. (3) The differentiation of residential space in Beijing’s urban fringe area is sensitive to the spatial accessibility of residential areas to other facilities, and is less affected by the spatial proximity, such as the number of facilities. (4) The central potential and traffic potential factors are still the core driving forces shaping the differentiation pattern of residential space in the marginal area; the role of leisure supporting factors has become increasingly prominent, and it has gradually become the key factor strengthening residential space differentiation; and the influence of medical and commercial supporting factors is relatively weak. Full article

In advanced economies characterized by sustained immigration, rising inequality, and chronically underdeveloped social housing sectors, demand-side welfare interventions risk being capitalized into higher rents rather than improving housing affordability. This study investigates how Spain’s welfare state transformation—particularly the rollout of IPREM-indexed policies such as the Minimum Living Income (IMV) and the Youth Rental Voucher—interacted with migration flows and tourism-driven housing competition to reshape private rental markets between 2008 and 2025. Using harmonized national data from OPI, Idealista, INE, and the Bank of Spain (2010–2024), we apply a descriptive time-series approach that combines structural break tests (Chow and Bai–Perron), pre/post-2021 correlation comparisons, regional heterogeneity analysis, and robustness checks (including Spearman correlations and jackknife sensitivity analyses). We identify a pronounced structural break in 2021: while consular visa issuances—a proxy for combined migration and tourism inflows—showed no significant association with advertised rental prices before 2021 (r ≈ 0.27, p = 0.41), a remarkably strong co-movement emerged thereafter (r ≈ 0.90–0.92). This shift aligns precisely with the nationwide implementation of IMV, institutionalization of the Youth Voucher, and disbursement of EU Recovery and Resilience Facility funds. The effect is most acute in regions with rigid housing supply and high exposure to tourist-use dwellings (VUT)—notably the Balearic Islands, Murcia, Cantabria, and Navarre—suggesting that increased effective demand may have been absorbed primarily through price increases rather than expanded access. While our observational design precludes causal inference and the findings should be interpreted as exploratory and hypothesis-generating, the convergence of timing, magnitude, and institutional context renders a policy-mediated demand channel plausible. The results caution that, without complementary supply-side measures—such as social housing investment, rehabilitation incentives, or VUT regulation—demand-side subsidies may inadvertently reinforce housing inequality and reduce fiscal efficiency, thereby undermining the sustainability goals they aim to advance. Full article

Beijing’s real estate market, a key part of China’s economy, plays a crucial role in the nation’s development. Any downturn or collapse in housing prices in the city would have severe consequences for both the real estate sector and the broader economy. This paper aims to explore whether a housing price bubble existed in Beijing from 2014 to 2024. This study investigates the areas where these price bubbles are mainly concentrated, analyzing various indicators, such as the house price-to-income ratio, house price-to-rent ratio, and control charts. This study employs the rational expectations model to measure potential price bubbles, integrating these indicators to assess housing price volatility. The findings indicate clear signs of a housing price bubble in 2016 and 2017. From the perspective of Beijing’s districts, Huairou, Pinggu, and Miyun exhibited clear signs of housing price bubbles, while Changping, Shunyi, and Chaoyang displayed comparatively minimal housing price bubbles. This study utilizes nearly a decade of fresh district-level data to study housing price bubbles in Beijing, which contributes to the exploration of the risks associated with Beijing’s real estate market. Full article

Soaring housing prices worldwide are compromising housing affordability, potentially leading to significant economic, social, and health repercussions. Understanding the price discovery process within the real estate market is therefore crucial for policymakers. While the relationship between land and housing prices in urban residential markets has been widely examined in the literature, the results are often context-specific, leaving the question of whether the land market leads the housing market or vice versa open to debate. Saudi Arabia, with its rapidly growing real estate market, evolving demographics and urbanization trends, and transformative regulatory reforms, presents a compelling context for revisiting the land–housing nexus. This study examines the long-term relationship between land and housing markets and investigates the short-term price dynamics with the ultimate goal of understanding the price formation in the housing market. The study dataset comprises quarterly time-series price indices published by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) in Saudi, representing the nation-wide price movements of residential lands and villas from 2014Q1 to 2025Q1. The study employs the Johansen cointegration method and the Granger causality testing. The results of cointegration analysis confirm a significant long-run equilibrium relationship between the two markets, while the error correction model reveals that both land and housing prices adjust to restore this equilibrium. Granger causality test results show a unidirectional relationship, where land prices predict future housing prices, consistent with the neoclassical rent theory. These findings reinforce the long-term, intrinsic link between land and housing markets observed in prior studies. The dynamics in the Saudi market are likely shaped by rapid urbanization that intensified speculation in the land market, and also the prevalence of self-building enabled by government-supported financing. This study underscores the importance of striking a delicate balance between supply and demand side policies in the real estate market while monitoring the impact of these policies on housing affordability. Full article

Climate change poses significant challenges to the economic and social sustainability of urban dwellers, particularly in the real estate market, where rising temperatures are affecting property values. While most research focuses on how climate change impacts buyers and sellers, this study shifts attention to renters, who may be more vulnerable to climate-induced price increases. By analyzing rental price and climate data, this study uses ordinary least squares (OLS) and fixed-effects regressions to assess the impact of temperature fluctuations on rental rates across 50 major U.S. metropolitan areas. The findings reveal a positive and significant relationship between rising temperatures and rental rates, particularly in the Northeastern and Southern U.S. These results suggest that targeted policy interventions may help ease financial pressures on vulnerable renters and support more sustainable urban development over time. The analysis also highlights the potential role of energy efficiency measures in rental housing to lower energy costs and alleviate rent burdens. Additionally, the findings indicate that local policymakers may consider rent stabilization strategies and investments in urban green infrastructure to protect low-income renters, reduce localized heat exposure, and promote long-term urban resilience. Full article

To solve the present housing crisis, the Support for Access to Housing Program, in the context of PRR, mainly focuses on social housing to be built or on housing of social interest to be regenerated. To approach this problem, a research question was raised: “What is the significance of the existing cooperative housing in solving the current housing crisis?” To analyze this issue, a multiple case study was adopted, comparing a collective dwelling of cooperative promotion at controlled costs in Caselas (1980s–1990s) with Expo Urbe (2000–2007) in Parque das Nações, a symbol of the new sustainable cooperative housing, which targets a population with a higher standard of living and thus is excluded from the PRR plan. These cases revealed the discrepancy created by the Cooperative Code of 1998 and its consequences for the urban regeneration of this heritage. They show that Caselas, built in a residential urban neighborhood, is strongly attached to a community, provides good social inclusion for vulnerable groups at more affordable prices, and it is eligible for urban regeneration and reuse (for renting or buying). However, the reuse of Caselcoop’s edifices cannot compromise their cultural and residential values or threaten the individual integrity. Full article

The ageing population and rising housing costs in Switzerland are increasing the number of older adults facing financial housing concerns. Older women have particularly limited housing choices because they, on average, earn less, live longer, and are more likely to live alone. This study explores potential levers to alleviate housing-related financial fears among baby boomer women (aged 55–75) living alone in Switzerland, a subject with limited academic coverage. Using regression and random forest models on unique 2023 survey data ($N=371$), we examine the influence of socio-demographic, financial, well-being, and housing factors on fears related to affordability, price increases, and lack of housing supply. Key findings show that ownership status, perceived financial situation, and concerns about maintaining one’s lifestyle significantly drive these fears. The fear of unsuitable housing strongly influences perceived lack of supply. These results highlight the importance of retirement planning and support the consideration of measures such as reverse mortgages, co-housing, subsidies, and rent-controlled units. Full article

This study examines housing affordability trends in Central Europe, focusing on the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and Poland, in the wake of recent global disruptions including the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021–2022 energy crisis, and the war in Ukraine. These events have intensified housing affordability challenges by driving up property prices, rental costs, and energy expenses. Using data from December 2022 to March 2023, the paper analyzes wage levels relative to housing costs in major cities—Prague, Brno, Bratislava, Vienna, Graz, Warsaw, and Kraków—through price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios. The findings reveal that affordability is most strained in Czech cities, particularly Prague, where property prices outpace wages, while Vienna demonstrates better affordability due to higher average incomes. The study integrates real estate platform data with official statistics and employs spatial mapping and exploratory econometric testing to identify affordability patterns and disparities. It concludes that affordability outcomes are shaped by wage dynamics, housing supply constraints, migration pressures, and policy responses. The study underscores the importance of targeted housing policies and wage interventions to address these challenges and highlights the need for cross-country policy learning and regional coordination to improve housing affordability and market resilience across Central Europe. Full article

This study examines access to rental housing in the metropolitan area of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, linking it to socio-economic inequalities and the increasing precarization. In recent years, housing affordability has worsened due to rising rents, stagnant wages, and speculative dynamics—particularly those linked to tourism and platform-based economies. Drawing on official data from the State Reference System for Rental Housing Prices (SERPAVI) and income statistics at the census tract level, this research quantifies housing affordability and spatial disparities through indicators such as economic effort rates. The analysis identifies patterns of exclusion and urban fragmentation, showing that large sectors of the population—especially those earning the minimum age—face severe barriers to accessing adequate housing. The findings highlight the insufficiency of current public policies and propose the expansion of social rental housing and stricter rental market regulation as necessary steps to ensure fairer urban conditions. Full article

The real estate market plays a pivotal role in most nations’ economy, showcasing continuous growth. Particularly noteworthy is the rapid expansion of the digital real estate sector, marked by innovations like 3D visualization and streamlined online contractual processes, a momentum further accelerated by the aftermath of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Amidst this transformative landscape, artificial intelligence emerges as a vital force, addressing consumer needs by harnessing data analytics for predicting and monitoring rental prices. While studies have demonstrated the efficacy of machine learning (ML) algorithms such as decision trees and neural networks in predicting house prices, there is a lack of research specifically focused on rental property prices, a significant sector in Brazil due to the prohibitive costs associated with property acquisition. This study fills this crucial gap by delving into the intricacies of rental pricing, using data from the city of São Carlos-SP, Brazil. The research aims to analyze, model, and predict rental prices, employing an approach that incorporates diverse ML models. Through this analysis, our work showcases the potential of ML algorithms in accurately predicting rental house prices. Moreover, it envisions the practical application of this research with the development of a user-friendly website. This platform could revolutionize the renting experience, empowering both tenants and real estate agencies with the ability to estimate rental values based on specific property attributes and have access to its statistics. Full article

The objective of the study was to ascertain the purchasing power potential of the average gross salary in the real estate market. The study area involved the European Union (EU) member states from 2008 to 2022. The research was based on the following data: average earnings for a full-time job, housing market transaction prices, and housing rental prices in the country. The analysis demonstrated that the average European must save for nearly six years for the purchase of their own apartment. Over the period from 2015 to 2022, the purchasing power of the monthly wage decreased in 20 of the 26 countries included in the survey. A recent study has demonstrated that 31% of the EU’s residents maintain households in rented housing. The study revealed that in the capital cities of six of the twenty countries surveyed, rent constitutes more than half of the average salary. Warsaw, the most expensive capital city, requires more than 93% of the average salary to be spent on rent. Full article