Influence of Accessibility to Urban Service Amenities on Housing Prices: Evidence from Beijing

Abstract

Housing prices are deeply influenced by urban service amenities, and measuring this effect is necessary to help administrations construct informed urban planning strategies. However, studies have not fully assessed the heterogeneous and spatial effects of accessibility to urban service amenities. This study classifies urban service amenities into six categories and divides Beijing into different areas. A hedonic price model and a spatial econometric model were used to examine different categories and locations and also the spatial effects of urban service amenities. The results are as follows: (1) the influence of urban service amenities varies among different categories; specifically, dining and shopping services and health services have negative impacts, whereas other amenities have significant positive effects. (2) The effects of urban service amenities on housing prices spatially vary. The effects decrease as the distances from the central business district (CBD) and the nearest employment center increase, and this impact is different in different areas. (3) The influence has spatial spillover effects, and the “half-decline” distance is approximately 18 km. This study contributes to our awareness of the meaning and heterogeneity of the effects of urban service amenities on housing prices, demonstrating that a universal and one-size-fits-all policy should be avoided.