The impact of urban green space on real estate prices: A hedonic analysis for the city of Berlin

Abstract

Urban green space represents a key aspect for the sustainable development of urban areas. The benefit of urban green space can also be reflected in higher property and land prices. Although a high number of international studies prove the impact of urban green on real estate prices, the empirical basis in Germany is still very limited. The overall purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of urban green space on real estate prices in Germany. The data set contains transaction data for single family homes (1996-2012) provided by the Committee of Valuation Experts (GAA, Gutachterausschuss für Grundstückswerte) for the city of Berlin and cross section geo-coded data for urban green drawn from the European Urban Atlas (EUA) of the European Environment Agency. In order to control for additional open space categories we further incorporated geo-coded data on water bodies, forest, farmland and fallow land. The analysis shows a positive impact of urban green on real estate prices. The results provide helpful information on the capitalization of urban green space in real estate prices.