The Effects of Subdivision Design on Housing Values: The Case of Alleyways

Subdivision design likely impacts residential housing values. This study examines the sale prices of houses located in subdivisions utilizing rear-entry alleyways in the Greater Dallas-Fort Worth-Denton metroplex. Regression analysis on a sample of 1,672 home sales, some of which are located on alleyways, reveals statistically significant impacts. Consequently, developers, appraisers, New Urbanists and other real estate participants should consider subdivision design when estimating value for residential dwellings.

Creating a Constant-Quality Index for Small Multifamily Rental Housing

Researchers since the early 1960s have constructed constant-quality price indices (CQIs) for single-family dwellings. This paper, however, applies the methodology to construct CQIs for a different property type - small multifamily rental housing with two to four units (MRH) - so that price changes can be measured. Over the period 1983 through 1988, MRH prices increased 70% in Connecticut, but decreased nearly 65% in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. These locations and the sample period are chosen because Connecticut's economy boomed, while Baton Rouge's collapsed; as well, Congress debated and passsed the 1986 Tax Reform Act (TR). TRA affected both regions' MRH prices, but other factors contributed to price changes, also.

Aggregation Bias in Price Indices for Multi-Family Rental Properties

This article examines aggregation bias in price index construction. Specifically, we test whether changes in values of 2- to 4-unit, multi-family rental housing properties vary systematically in the same market across property size. Moreover, we examine the time trend differences across locations within a geographic region for various sized multiplex properties, as well as investigate how size should be measured. Results suggest that absolute price changes are significantly different across property size, as determined by living area, and that the time trend does not differ across locations within a geographic region. Further research using this methodology is recommended for other property types.

Contagion and REIT Stock Prices

This article investigates the contagious movement of real estate investment trust (REIT) stock prices in response to real estate news related to financial institutions' real estate portfolios. The basic hypothesis is that because real estate assets are traded infrequently, the market has incomplete information about their true value; thus, REIT stock prices react negatively to announcements of poorly performing real estate portfolios of financial institutions. Consistent with the hypothesis, significantly negative reactions to these announcements are found for a portfolio of sixty-nine REITs during the real estate crisis of 1989--91.

An Empirical Investigation of Federal Wetlands Regulation and Flood Delineation: Implications for Residential Property Owners

Since the early 1970s, the federal government has undertaken extensive efforts to stem the loss of wetlands by regulating the use of land. This paper investigates the extent to which residential property owners are affected by federal wetlands regulation, by presenting an empirical investigation of such economic consequences. Results suggest that because of the Supreme Court?s holding in United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc., sale prices of properties located in a wetlands area were discounted nearly eight percent, even after controlling for some sample properties being flood delineated.