Hedonic Modeling for a Growing Housing Market: Valuation of Apartments in Complexes

Abstract

The share of apartment complexes in housing stock of major cities in the developing world has been increasing. They represent a different housing submarket whose growing importance necessitates further research. Using survey data on transaction records of real estate agents, we employ a hedonic pricing model to explore the factors influencing apartment prices in the Metropolitan Izmit area. The site of a major reconstruction effort following a strong earthquake, Izmit has been in the forefront of the changes taking place in the Turkish real estate sector in particular, and in urban housing in general. We aim to get better estimates by focusing the study on apartment complexes in Metropolitan Izmit, the major submarket in the area. The results reveal that structural characteristics of an apartment as well as amenities provided in an apartment complex are important determinants of price. Air quality and proximity to a good public school have a major effect on price as well. The findings suggest that the submarket could be segmented further geographically.