Measuring the costs of height restrictions with a general equilibrium model

This paper investigates the costs of residential height restrictions, using a numerically solvable general equilibrium model which is based on residential location theory and which has several novel features. The time and money costs of travel are treated separately, households demand recreational land as well as structure and, most importantly, actual construction cost data are used in an activity analysis formulation of the supply side of the housing market. There are two major conclusions. First, households' demand for recreational land is significant; ignoring it results in simulated cities considerably smaller and denser than is observed. Secondly, residential height restrictions merit serious consideration since their costs appear to be quite modest.     

An empirical model of residential location and the journey-to-work in a metropolitan area

In this paper we present and estimate a single equation model designed to explain the residential location behaviour of individuals living in a multi-centered metropolitan area. We test the model for heads of households and non-heads of households separately, as well as for the total working population, in order to isolate differences in commuting behaviour between primary and secondary wage earners. The relationships are estimated from 1971 Census, cross-section data using least squares multiple regression. The data pertain to the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) and sixty-three designated zones therein.The estimation results reveal that although location-rents prove to be significant in the individual's residential location decision-making process, their effect was limited to discouraging those employed in or near the central business district (CBD) from living close to work. The existence of secondary employment centres did not have the same significant effect in bidding up location-rents. Furthermore, contrary to the standard theory, the results suggest that residential location decisions are made in response to the availability of collective residential opportunities and workers' preferences for specific residential attributes rather than by reference to the “transportation cost—housing cost” trade-off. Among the socio-economic variables, age of the worker is found to be most significant in affecting journey-to-work distance. The results provide some evidence that non-heads are, to a certain extent, more sensitive to urban structural constraints in their commuting behaviour.     

Equivalence between welfare and entropy approaches to residential location

An optimization model for residential location in an urban area is presented. As the objective, a welfare measure is considered which is derived as aggregated expected utility based on utility-maximizing individual behaviour. The utilities include travel costs for work trips as well as a measure of the disutility with high-density living. The problem of finding a welfare maximizing housing allocation is shown to be equivalent to an entropy maximizing problem provided that a certain condition is met. By considering a dual formulation, a computationally more expedient problem is obtained. The model approach is illustrated by a few applications to the Stockholm region.     

A simple urban growth model with durable housing

In the last decade the static theory of residential urban location and land use has been extensively developed. The theory has generated many useful insights, but because it ignores growth and the durability of housing and urban infrastructure there are many urban phenomena it cannot explain. In this paper a simple urban growth model with durable housing, in which all builders have perfect foresight, is presented. The discussion focuses on the qualitative differences between the economics of this model, the static class of models, and a class of dynamic models in which myopic expectations are assumed.     

Evolution of urban housing stocks: A model applied to Baltimore and Houston

Historical simulations of urban residential growth in Baltimore and Houston based on a model of the growth process which has two distinct components are presented. The vintage component utilizes the growth of income and population, and an assumption that housing is putty-clay, to predict the age distribution of the housing stock in each period. The spatial component of the model determines where this housing construction will take place according to (1) housing is built on vacant land and (2) the pattern of construction obeys the rules of the standard monocentric models. Housing is demolished when economically obsolete. The putty-clay (vintage) aspect of the model produces fairly accurate city-wide vintage distributions, but there is much more mixing of vintages and income (in Baltimore) by location than predicted, even under monocentric assumptions most favorable to mixing.     

The urban housing market: A new approach for estimating demand for housing by dwelling type

A new approach for estimating urban housing demand by dwelling type is suggested and tested empirically. The approach is based on the assumption that households choose their residential location and dwelling type in a way to maximize the communal utility. The model used is the Dynamic General Linear Expenditure System which allows determination of (1) urban housing demand by dwelling type, and (2) expenditure and own- and cross-price elasticities (compensated and uncompensated).     

The effect of widowhood on housing and location choices

The number of elderly persons living alone is increasing and their influence on the housing market is getting larger. This paper investigates the effect of the loss of a spouse on housing and location choices. A partner’s death induces a decrease in income which may lead to downsizing. Widowhood may also reveal new preferences, such as the need to be close to care givers and health services. We estimate the effect of a transition to widowhood on housing consumption and location choices using the French Housing Surveys. Widowhood significantly increases residential mobility, especially at older ages and for those who have children. Mobile widows tend to live closer to their relatives but do not move to co-reside with a child. Housing and location adjustments are consistent with new widows moving to dwellings that are smaller, more often apartments and in the rental sector, and on average located in larger municipalities where services are more accessible. The housing demand of widows will be significant in the next 20 years, especially the demand for small dwellings.     

Household location in a linear multi-center metropolitan area

The application of monocentric models of residential location to the analysis of metropolitan areas with more than one center of economic activity, produces a distorted view of the spatial distribution of urban variables such as land values, housing prices, etc. This distortion results from the fact that monocentric models tend to underestimate the values of these variables in areas lying between the centers, and yield wider residential areas toward the outskirts of the city. In this paper, a model of household location is developed, which attempts to correct this distortion by simultaneously considering the urban centers during the residential location process.     

The Impact of Manufactured Housing on Adjacent Residential Property Values: A GIS Approach Based on Three North Carolina Counties

This empirical study examines the impact of manufactured housing (MH) on the values of adjacent site-built residential properties using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and large data samples for three counties in North Carolina, USA, for the period of 1994-2000. Both property appreciation rates (AR) and property values (PV) are examined with respect to proximity to MH. While ARs are based on a simple measure of value appreciation, PVs are estimated in a linear regression based hedonic price model, which is designed to captures the contributions of structure and location attributes to property values. Results indicate that the appreciation rates slightly decreased with distance from a MH unit in Buncombe and Wake, but the reverse is true in Pitt. The statistical analyses reveal that proximity to a manufactured home influences the value of nearby site-built residential property. Estimated property values show that the further away from a manufactured home, the higher the site-built property value, other things being equal.     

A MCGP decision aid for homebuyers to make the best choice

This study adopts a new approach, the multi-choice goal programming (MCGP), to evaluate houses in order to help homebuyers to find better house based on the residential preferences. According to the function of MCGP, homebuyers can set multiple housing goals with multiple aspiration levels. This increases the flexibility to find a suitable house. Compared with other classical methods such as checklist and analytic hierarchy process, MCGP is more efficient, especially while considering a lot of housing criteria and house alternatives. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of MCGP decision aid for housing selection, a real case study is then provided. Furthermore, ten volunteers are invited to participate in the empirical experiment. The results also validate the effectiveness and efficiency of MCGP decision aid.     

Residential mobility with job location uncertainty

This paper investigates the relationship between job changes and residential mobility. A job change may be prompted by reasons unrelated to factors associated with housing consumption. However, a job change may lead to an adjustment to housing consumption, i.e., residential relocation. Previous studies find that job relocations are positively associated with residential mobility. This paper departs from previous studies by looking at the effects of an uncertain future job location on residential mobility and mobility expectation. It is conjectured that with the existence of costs of residential mobility, a household head's likelihood for changing jobs in the future dampens the household's propensity to move, but encourages the formation of mobility expectation. These conjectures are examined empirically using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and they are confirmed.     

Rapports de propriété, ségrégation et pratiques de l'espace résidentiel

The aim of the authors is the theoretical reformulation of the question of segregation. In order to do this, they examine in turn psycho-sociological theories, morphological and semiological theories as well as theories of residential location. The authors show how all of these approaches can only define classificatory processes and propose an analysis beginning from those social relations which structure residential consumption; that is, relations of property in housing. Starting from a definition of segregation as a process of exclusive practices of residential space, the authors show how relations of residential property determine two types of segregation: one ‘by antagonism’, based on the valorization of property capital, and one ‘by incongruence’ based on conditions of real appropriation of housing.     

基于预算约束的商品房价格形成机制研究

我国商品房市场上存在一定程度的预算约束。本文通过类比的方法,参考经典预算约束方程,得出了商品房交易市场的预算约束方程,并在此基础上通过理论分析和实证分析得出了商品房价格形成机制。笔者认为,流动性、城市化、人均可支配收入、交易量、持有成本为商品房价格的主要影响因素。从预算约束角度出发对商品房价格的形成机制进行研究,对政府的住房需求治理具有一定的参考意义。     

Hedonic Model在二手房价格分析中的应用——以昆明市为例

以昆明市城区二手房为研究对象,利用Hedonic模型和统计学方法研究房价与特征属性的定量关系。结果表明半对数函数模型的拟合度最高,回归系数表明二手房区位特征中环线位置对房价的影响最大。住宅属性对房价影响程度依次是环线位置、轨道交通、物业管理费、容积率、教育配套、公交线路、装修程度、建筑面积。     

A simultaneous model of workplace and residential location incorporating job search

The paper develops a model of spatial job search to provide a theory of workplace location with respect to a predetermined place of residence which, the paper argues, is needed to complement the theory of residential location from a predetermined workplace. By concentrating on the role of the skill level of the job seeker, the model distinguishes predictions of the workplace location based on search from those based on commuting considerations. Household survey data from Greater London is analyzed to support the propositions of the search model in the determination of the relationship between the workplace and the household location.     

Racial discrimination in the Boston housing market

Recent studies suggest that price differentials between what whites and blacks pay for housing are largely a function of changes in supply and demand in the two submarkets. These studies, however, estimate models that assume a unified housing market. As a result, imputed prices of housing attributes cannot vary with location, and the analyses obscure important racial price differentials. Based on a more realistic and complex housing market theory, the model described in this paper indicates that housing prices are substantially higher in the ghetto and transition areas than in white areas, and that within the same area blacks must pay more than whites for equivalent housing.     

The spatial effects of a tax on housing and land

This paper analytically investigates the spatial consequences of a tax on housing and land. In general, a property tax is not spatially neutral; instead it disproportionately affects certain parts of the city. The property tax can therefore create distributional inequities and can distort the pattern of residential and industrial location. We derive conditions on locational preferences and housing production that determine which parts of a city will be disproportionately affected by a property tax. Empirical estimates suggest that central locations will be disproportionately affected by property taxes.     

List price and sales prices of residential properties during booms and busts

This paper investigates the relationship between the list and sale price of residential properties over the housing cycle. In down or normal markets the list price generally exceeds the sales price; however, when the housing market is strong, homes sell for more than their list price. This observation is not consistent with the assumptions made in the standard model of home sellers’ search behavior. We consider alternative models. In one, sellers set list prices based on their expectations of future changes in sales prices and the arrival rate of buyers; however, demand shocks occur. This model partially explains our data from the Belfast, U.K. housing market, but it fails to predict the list to sales price ratio during a sustained housing boom. We next describe a model where sellers’ endogenously select their search mechanism depending on the strength of the housing market. We find support for the conjecture that sellers switch to an auction-like model during housing booms. There also is evidence that during a downturn in the market, sellers’ list prices are sticky.     

Modal choice,location demand,and income

W. Alonso's monocentric city model (″Location and Land Use,″ Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Mass. (1964)) is extended to explain the simultaneous choice of residential location, housing quantity, and work trip mode. Mode is conceived of as a continuous choice variable, each mode being characterized by a speed and a fare. Mode is shown not to be independent of location, so that location “prices” should be included in the mode demand equations used in urban transportation planning. Comparative statics of the model with respect to income are presented. The earlier finding that the effect of income increase on location is indeterminate is confirmed.     

某居民楼山墙裂缝产生原因分析及处理

针对某居民楼山墙裂缝产生的位置、形状,结合房屋检测及房屋现状,认为该居民楼的倾斜变形及变形缝被填塞共同导致了房屋山墙产生损伤裂缝。为确保房屋安全,建议对部分地基进行灌浆加固,清除变形缝内填塞物,恢复房屋相对变形能力,对开裂墙体采用压力灌浆的方法进行修补加固。