HOUSING SUBSIDIES AND URBAN HOUSEHOLD BEHAVIOR*

ABSTRACT. This paper examines how housing subsidies affect housing and location demands in a monocentric market, identifying the extent to which policies prompt targeted populations to congregate more or less intensely in the central city. Various subsidies are studied: rents based on ability to pay, lump-sum housing aid, housing vouchers, and subsidies based on percentage of rent. The demand effects are seen to hinge critically upon whether or not subsidies are tied to binding consumption restrictions. Policy impacts are shown to be identical for both CBD employed and locally employed consumers targeted for the housing policies.     

INVESTMENT RISK AND THE TRANSITION INTO HOMEOWNERSHIP*

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the extent to which house–price uncertainty affects the transition of renter households into homeownership. Using a 14‐year household panel from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics during the years 1984–1997 and measures of the time‐varying risk and return to owner‐occupied housing, we estimate a Cox proportional hazard model of the effect of house–price volatility on the transition into homeownership. Results indicate that house–price uncertainty has a negative and dramatic impact on transitions into homeownership. In addition, we find that the low‐wealth renters are particularly sensitive to house–price risk.     

TRAFFIC EXTERNALITIES AND SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSE PRICES*

ABSTRACT. This study is the first to lend empirical support to the common belief that traffic intensity affects property values. Using a standard hedonic pricing model, this paper investigates the price effects on housing of traffic within a neighborhood. Results using data on single-family housing transactions for two different locations in a medium-sized city show a substantial negative price effect of traffic externalities. The magnitude of the effect is shown to be location specific.     

PRICE UNCERTAINTY AND PRODUCTION-LOCATION DECISIONS UNDER FREE ENTRY OLIGOPOLY*

ABSTRACT. This paper departs from earlier work on location theory under uncertainty by considering an oligopoly case where the symmetric Cournot-Nash equilibrium of imperfectly competitive and identical firms are examined. It will be shown that once a Cournot competitive equilibrium is introduced, the demand function plays a central role in the choice of location, and the effects of changes in fixed costs, mean product price and price variability on the firm's optimum location and output are independent of absolute and/or relative risk aversion. These striking results are in sharp contrast with the well-known results obtained in previous contributions to the location literature.     

SUFFICIENT CONDITIONS FOR NEGATIVE EXPONENTIAL DENSITIES A FURTHER ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT Brueckner correctly pointed out that one of the sufficient conditions for negative exponential densities is a unitary price elasticity of the compensated, not the uncompensated, demand for housing. This note shows that the Brueckner condition implies a zero income elasticity of housing demand when income and price elasticities are constrained to be constants. It also derives the utility function that gives rise to negative exponential densities in this case, given that other standard assumptions are satisfied. In light of empirical evidence, justification for the popular negative exponential functional form seems rather weak.     

The Location Invariance Theorem in Weberian Space Under Uncertainty

This paper examines the validity of the location invariance theorem in Weberian space under various types of uncertainty. The main results are: Given that the firm's location is constrained to remain at a specified distance from the output market, the optimal location is invariant to any change in product demand if and only if the production function is homothetic for a firm facing demand price uncertainty, or if the production function is homothetic and both inputs are risk-neutral for a firm facing technological uncertainty. Alternatively, given that the distance from the firm's location to the output market is a variable, location invariance occurs for a firm facing demand price uncertainty if the production function is linear homogeneous. In the presence of input price uncertainty the optimal location always varies with a change in product demand. The results can include those previously obtained for linear stochastic location models as special cases and some are new contributions to the literature.     

南京市住宅价格时空分异格局及其影响因素分析——基于地理加权回归模型的实证研究

以2009-2017年南京市“一主三副”商品房社区为基本研究单元,运用GIS地统计分析中的普通Kriging插值法对“一主三副”住宅价格空间分布进行模拟和估计,并利用地理加权回归（GWR）模型探究社区属性、商业区位、交通区位、服务区位和景观区位等类型变量对住宅价格的影响规律。研究结果表明：①南京市房价总体上呈现主城向副城递减的中心外围模式,“一主三副”住宅价格空间结构呈现出同心圆和扇形融合的混合模型。②中心位势对主城住宅价格影响相对下降,对副城影响相对提升,交通位势表现出相反的趋势,住宅房龄、绿化环境对住宅价格的影响由主城向副城递减,山水景观的影响由长江沿岸向外围递减。③主副城住宅价格影响因素具有空间异质性,其中主城受距CBD距离、住宅建筑年代和绿化率的影响较大,而副城主要受距地铁站距离、距景观资源距离的影响。     

SPATIAL HEDONIC MODELS OF AIRPORT NOISE,PROXIMITY, AND HOUSING PRICES*

ABSTRACT Despite the refrain that housing prices are determined by “location, location, and location,” few studies of airport noise and housing prices have incorporated spatial econometric techniques. We compare various spatial econometric models and estimation methods in a hedonic price framework to examine the impact of noise on 2003 housing prices near the Atlanta airport. Spatial effects are best captured by a model including both spatial autocorrelation and autoregressive parameters estimated by a generalized moments approach. In our preferred model, houses located in an area in which noise disrupts normal activities (defined by a day–night sound level of 70–75 decibels) sell for 20.8 percent less than houses located where noise does not disrupt normal activities (defined by a day–night sound level below 65 decibels). The inclusion of spatial effects magnifies the negative price impacts of airport noise. Finally, after controlling for noise, houses farther from the airport sell for less; the price elasticity with respect to distance is −0.15, implying that airport proximity is an amenity.     

A MODEL OF URBAN HOUSEHOLD BEHAVIOR WITH LEISURE CHOICE

This paper provides a complete comparative-static analysis of the simplest model of urban household behavior that incorporates time explicitly. Results involving the housing-price function and the effects on housing consumption and location (radial distance from the CBD) of exogenous changes in preferences for housing, housing price, and money costs of transportation are the same as in models not incorporating time explicitly. In addition, it is found that housing consumption and location are negatively related to commuting time, positively related to nonwage income, and ambiguously related (both a priori and empirically, for reasonable values of the relevant variables) to the wage rate.     

THE EXCHANGEABILITY OF HEDONIC PROPERTY PRICE STUDIES*

ABSTRACT. Observations drawn from multiple markets are essential to the construction of indices of housing costs and to measures of demand for housing attributes. It is not evident when multiple markets exist or whether such markets exist for some attributes but not for others. We test for multiple markets by using Bayesian methods to assess the transferability (random exchangeability) of entire hedonic price expressions from one site and time to another, the transferability of hedonic price functions for particular attributes, and the degrees of similarity that hedonic price functions must have in order to be transferable. In our illustrations, price functions for structural housing attributes are generally transferable; prices for neighborhood attributes are not. Therefore, in our illustrations, the desired price indices and demand functions should be estimable for neighborhood attributes, but not for structural ones.     

Housing Market Dynamics Under Stochastic Growth: An Application to the Housing Market in Boulder, Colorado

Recent housing-market studies have modeled slow stock and price adjustment with some success. However, the empirical procedures used in these models break down if housing stocks or prices are driven by stochastic growth. In this paper I suggest an error-correction model for analyzing housing supply and demand under conditions of stochastic growth for a regional housing market. The model is applied to the housing market in Boulder, Colorado from 1981 through 1995—a period of rapid growth in housing values in the area. Long-run housing supply and demand are shown to be inelastic with respect to changes in the price of housing. The results indicate that developers respond more accurately to housing-market disequilibrium attributable to supply-side disturbances than to disturbances generated by changes in the demand for housing. On the other hand, price appreciation is driven primarily by demand disturbances.     

广州城市内部居住迁移空间特征及其影响因素研究

居住迁移是家庭居住消费的空间调整过程,也是城市重构的基础动力,是西方地理学、规划学和社会学研究的主要内容。利用2001年和2005年在广州市进行的家庭住房问卷调查结果,文章分析了居住迁移空间特征、方向特征以及居住迁移方向的影响因素。分析结果显示,广州市居住迁移空间以就近迁移为主,在同一行政区范围内和邻近行政区间的迁移比重非常高,但从阶段演化来看,就近迁移有弱化趋势。迁移方向以老城区内和外围区内的迁移为主,其次为以老城区向外围区迁移。住房产权、家庭生命周期、家庭收入和迁移时间对居住迁移方向的影响显著,居住郊区化与住房自置率提高有关;单位房和房管局房建设是郊区化的主要动力之一。     

Asymmetric Entrant Locaiton with a Discrete Consumer Distribution: Spatial Price Discrimination Versus Mill Pricing

In this paper I examine the profit-maximizing locations of entrants. Suppose that firms practice spatial price discrimination and consumer locations are discrete, such as five equally spaced towns on a roadway. With completely inelastic consumer demand an entrant between two existing firms is often indifferent between the symmetric (central) location and a continuum of asymmetric (noncentral) locations. However, downward-sloping consumer demand often causes the entrant to strictly prefer either of two asymmetric locations to any other location. These results are very different from those found in mill-pricing (free-on-board or f.o.b.-pricing) models.     

HOUSING CONSTRUCTION, VACANCY CHAINS, AND RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY IN WINDSOR

R esidential m obility is one of the most important forces underlying changes in the social composition and physical characteristics of urban areas (Rossi 1955, p. 2). Consequently, numerous studies on residential migration have been carried out in order to comprehend this process better and thereby aid in the assessment of migration theories and in the development of appropriate models. Mobility studies have examined the characteristics of outmigration areas and households, motivations to move, satisfaction achieved through relocation, and the impact of residential changes. However, as Maher (1974) points out, previous analyses are incomplete in that they tend to focus on the demand characteristics of residential relocation and to omit the supply side of the process, the available housing stock. This study attempts to rectify this omission by considering the provision of newly constructed single-family detached housing in Windsor and the resultant migration patterns and processes through vacancy chain analysis. The demand and supply concepts of residential mobility are examined with regard to the housing multiplier generated by different locations and values of new homes, the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of households at various positions in the turnover process, the reasons for moving, and the spatial patterns of residential moves originating from new housing. In addition, by focusing on a specific form of housing the study avoids problems which may arise from aggregate level analyses of households adjusting to new housing opportunities.     

SPATIAL MONOPSONY AND MONOPOLY PRICING IN A STOCHASTIC ENVIRONMENT*

ABSTRACT. In this paper some of the important properties of the behavior of a spatial monopsonist (monopolist) facing a stochastic supply (demand) curve are derived. Under uncertainty, price setting and quantity setting behavior are no longer equivalent. Hence, spatial price discrimination has to be compared with spatial quantity discrimination with respect to expected profits. I prove three general theorems on how the ranking of the behavioral modes, in terms of expected profit, depends on how the stochastic component enters the supply (demand) and supply (demand) price functions. In particular, I prove that under monopsony one would expect a high probability of excess demand, in the sense that the firm would accept all deliveries at the preset price.     

住宅优势度的理论与评价方法

在总结已有城市住宅价格空间分异相关理论体系的基础上,提出了住宅优势度的概念和理论,认为在城市内部,某住宅相对于其他住宅所具有的优势及其量化程度称为住宅优势度,是住宅相对优势的度量。住宅优势度决定住宅价格,住宅价格是住宅优势度的货币体现。构建了住宅优势度研究的基本框架,阐述了其假设前提,提出了其基本构成要素和综合评价体系。将该视角应用于扬州市的案例研究,结果表明其住宅优势度与住宅价格存在显著的正相关关系。证明本文构建的住宅优势度理论及其评价体系具有合理性和可行性,为城市住宅价格的构成要素与影响机理分析提供一个可供选择的新视角。     

HOUSING CONSUMPTION DECLINES WITH INCOME IN THE OPEN‐CITY MODEL: THEORY AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

This paper demonstrates that the standard urban model (SUM) has important, previously unknown, and rather counterintuitive predictions about the determinants of housing consumption in cities. For example, the SUM predicts that, as higher wages in the central business district prompt city growth, the housing space per household falls, that is, rising income is associated with falling housing consumption. Empirical testing using a specially constructed panel data set of U.S. cities, confirms this prediction. When city size, income, and housing price rise, housing space per household falls.     

Environmental Risk and Uncertainty: Insights from Yucca Mountain

Abstract This study examines the effects of the risk from transporting high–level radioactive waste to the proposed Yucca Mountain repository on housing location decisions in Southern Nevada. Using data from a survey of southern Nevada households, we develop a model–based subjective risk estimate for each household. We then explore different factors that may influence the household's location decisions if the proposed transportation route is ultimately chosen for nuclear waste transport. We extend the conventional expected utility model to allow for uncertainty surrounding the actual risks borne by the household. Finally, we examine the impact of federal government compensation on households' location decisions. The findings indicate that residents currently living near the proposed transportation route express subjective risk estimates much larger than those reported by the Department of Energy. In general, households that are uncertain about the future risks are more likely to relocate than those expressing certainty. When everything is considered, the model predicts that between one and three percent of households living near the transportation route are likely to relocate. Compensation can influence some households to remain at their present location and bear the transport risk.     

沈阳市住房价格空间分异格局及其影响因素研究

本文以我国典型的老工业城市沈阳为例来分析其住房价格空间分异特征与影响机理。通过大数据方法获取该市1450个住宅小区的房价及特征数据，利用Kriging空间插值法模拟其房价空间分布格局，并从社区、公共配套设施和交通出行等方面构建地理加权回归模型，探究各因子对房价空间分布的影响机理。结果表明：①沈阳市住房价格呈现出多中心的空间结构，且长白区域已成为新的价格峰值区。②特征因素对住房价格的影响具有显著的空间异质性，其中，公共配套设施和地铁站对房价表现出较高的影响力，并对住房价格的作用程度呈现明显空间差异性。③受“强政府、弱市场”等的长期影响，政府调控下的城市资源分配不均衡成为沈阳等老工业城市住房价格空间分异的根本原因。     

昆明市保障性住区居民就业空间特征及其收入效应分析

保障性住房建设解决了大量城市低收入家庭的住房问题,但大多区位偏远、交通不便,远离城市就业中心,导致低收入人群的通勤成本上升,进而对其就业和收入产生影响。本研究以昆明市为样本城市,选取廉租房、公租房和经适房3类保障性住区,利用通勤距离、通勤时间、通勤方式、工作地点等指标,从居住-就业空间匹配角度,揭示保障性住区居民就业空间特征;并通过建立包含空间虚拟变量的多元回归方程,揭示了保障性住区居民就业空间特征对其收入的影响。