394 research outputs found
Property price gradients: The vertical dimension
This is an empirical study on the pricing of two vertical property attributes: floor level and building height. Floor level is the vertical location of a unit in a multi-storey building; the extra price paid for a higher floor level is labelled a floor-level premium. Previous hedonic price studies unequivocally showed that the floor-level premium is positive, but they were silent on whether its magnitude varies with floor levels and with buildings of different heights. Indeed, building height is a feature of a building, not its constituent units, so it is not clear whether building height alone should affect the units' prices. Based on a sample of highly homogeneous housing units in buildings of varying heights, we found that (1) the floor-level premium was not constant, but diminished as floor level increases; (2) there was no significant difference in the pattern of the floor-level premium between high-rise and low-rise buildings; and (3) there was a positive and significant premium for units in low-rise buildings over those in high-rise ones. These findings can help developers determine the optimal height and shape of their development. © 2010 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201
Floor-level premiums in high-rise and low-rise buildings
This paper examines a unique feature of multi-storey buildings â floor-level premiums.
Floor-level premiums refer to the price paid for the vertical location of a flat, measured
by its floor level. Previous hedonic price studies unequivocally showed that floor-level
premiums are positive. However, they were often based on the assumptions that floorlevel
premiums are constant 1) across different floor levels within the same building
and/or 2) across different buildings given the same floor level. This second assumption is
particularly interesting because it begs the question of whether the same premium is paid
for high-rise and low-rise buildings. For instance, do we pay the same for the 5th floor of
a low-rise building and that of a high-rise building? Based on a sample of highly
homogeneous buildings (except for their heights), we found that floor-level premiums
were not constant but diminishing with respect to floor levels. Moreover, there was no
significant difference in the pattern of floor-level premiums between high-rise and lowrise
buildings. Finally, there was a positive and significant premium for shorter buildings
over taller buildings.published_or_final_versio
Comparative study of Building Performance Assessment Schemes in Hong Kong
Having access to information is essential when one needs to make a decision to buy property or renovate a building. However, information concerning the health, safety, and environmental performance of buildings is not always readily available. This creates a need for building performance assessment tools. This paper aims to compare the building performance assessment schemes available for use in Hong Kong, namely The Hong Kong Building Environment Assessment Method (HK-BEAM), The Intelligent Building Index (IBI), The Building Quality Index (BQI), and The Comprehensive Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme for Buildings (CEPAS). Their similarities and differences are pinpointed and discussed in detail. The findings of this study will serve as a guide for practitioners to decide on the schemes that best suit their purposes.postprin
The effect of SARS on the price of re-entrants in multi-storey apartment buildings
Natural lighting and ventilation have long been a primary consideration in building design,
particularly for those high-rise and densely packed apartment blocks where mechanical
ventilation is normally secondary. In Hong Kong, there are prescriptive legal requirements
governing the provision of natural lighting and ventilation in private buildings. This,
coupled with developersâ profit-maximizing incentives, often gives rise to re-entrant designs
commonly found in apartment buildings in Hong Kong.
This paper aims to study the economic impacts of the disposition of re-entrants on property
prices with reference to the revelation of the chimney effect of re-entrants after the occurrence
of the mass community outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Disease (SARS) in Amoy
Gardens in 2003. In this study, we use a hedonic pricing model to examine whether flats
designed with a re-entrant is sold at a different price than those without a re-entrant. We
draw a sample of property transactions from a popular single residential development with
variations in re-entrant designs. A total of 357 transactions were collected, of which 90 were
transacted after the SARS event. The model is capable to monitor any significance changes
in the premium of re-entrant and its relationship with floor level before and after SARS.
Based on the hedonic pricing analysis, we found that the preference for re-entrants is
floor-dependent. Before SARS, homebuyers were not fond of re-entrants on low floor levels,
but they were willing to pay more for re-entrants as the floor level increases. Yet, the
outbreak of SARS did not significantly change their preferences for re-entrants. The market
is capable to capitalize the building design into property prices. Developers and designs
should improve their building design to meet the ever changing needs of the market. This
paper provides an empirical framework to examine how homebuyers price a particular design
feature using property transaction data.published_or_final_versio
An empirical study on the neighbourhood effect of refurbishment
An important portion of property value comes from property location, which is a function
of the quality of surrounding environment (e.g. external views). In a congested living
environment like Hong Kong, it is difficult, if not impossible, to have a view
unobstructed by buildings. As such, the quality of views is dependent upon the aesthetic
quality of surrounding buildings. It is likely that poorly maintained buildings will emit
negative visual effects to their immediate neighbourhood. Refurbishing these poor
buildings should, therefore, reduce or even counter this negative externality.
This study aims to empirically identify the effect of refurbishment on the prices of
neighbourhood properties based on an analysis of panel data in Hong Kong. The data
consists of property transactions in a large housing estate located in Pokfulam. This
estate was chosen because its surrounding buildings underwent refurbishment in 1998.
Results show that the refurbishment brought a significant increase in the price of
properties facing the refurbished buildings, keeping other things constant. Given the
aging building problem in most urban areas, the results pose significant practical
implications on building refurbishment and urban rehabilitation as a whole. Developers
or property owners may be lured to invest in the refurbishment of adjacent dilapidated
properties with a view to a value enhancement of their own properties.published_or_final_versio
Familial adenomatous patients with desmoid tumours show increased expression of miR-34a in serum and high levels in tumours
Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is rare affecting 1 in 10,000 people and a subset (10%) are at risk of myofibroblastic desmoid tumours (DTs) after colectomy to prevent cancer. DTs are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The absence of markers to monitor progression and a lack of treatment options are significant limitations to clinical management. We investigated microRNAs (miRNA) levels in DTs and serum using expression array analysis on two independent cohorts of FAP patients (total, n=24). Each comprised equal numbers of patients who had formed DTs (cases) and those who had not (controls). All controls had absence of DTs confirmed by clinical and radiological assessment over at least three years post- colectomy. Technical qPCR validation was performed using an expanded cohort (29 FAP patients; 16 cases and 13 controls). The most significant elevated serum miRNA marker of DTs was miR-34a-5p and in-situ hybridisation (ISH) showed most DTs analysed (5/6) expressed miRNA-34a-5p. Exome sequencing of tumour and matched germline DNA did not detect mutations within the miR-34a-5p transcript sites or 3'-UTR of target genes that would alter functional miRNA activity. In conclusion, miR-34a-5p is a potential circulatory marker and therapy target. A large prospective world-wide multi-centre study is now warranted
Torus equivariant K-stability
It is conjectured that to test the K-polystability of a polarised variety it is enough to consider test-configurations which are equivariant with respect to a torus in the automorphism group. We prove partial results towards this conjecture. We also show that it would give a new proof of the K-polystability of constant scalar curvature polarised manifolds
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: time lapse before diagnosis and treatment
This is a descriptive study of 168 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who were referred to public oncology departments for primary treatment between July and September 1996. The mean duration from the onset of the symptoms to histological diagnosis was 5.0 months; the duration ranged from 6.1 months (for patients presenting with nasal symptoms) to 1.8 months (for those with cranial nerve dysfunction). The mean period between the onset of symptoms and the seeking of medical advice was 2.9months. For 54% of the patients, there was a further delay of up to 2.4 months between the initial medical consultation and referral to the appropriate specialist. The majority (84%) of patients attended public institutions for histological confirmation. The mean total time taken from the onset of symptoms to the commencement of radiotherapy was 6.5 months (range, 1.3-74.0 months)---45% of the delay was attributed to the patient, 20% to initial consultations, 14% to diagnostic arrangement, and 21% to preparation for radiotherapy. Concerted efforts are needed to minimise further the time between the onset of symptoms and treatment. A substantial reduction in this delay can be achieved if both public and primary care doctors were made more aware of the significance of relevant symptoms.published_or_final_versio
Numerical Hermitian Yang-Mills Connections and Kahler Cone Substructure
We further develop the numerical algorithm for computing the gauge connection
of slope-stable holomorphic vector bundles on Calabi-Yau manifolds. In
particular, recent work on the generalized Donaldson algorithm is extended to
bundles with Kahler cone substructure on manifolds with h^{1,1}>1. Since the
computation depends only on a one-dimensional ray in the Kahler moduli space,
it can probe slope-stability regardless of the size of h^{1,1}. Suitably
normalized error measures are introduced to quantitatively compare results for
different directions in Kahler moduli space. A significantly improved numerical
integration procedure based on adaptive refinements is described and
implemented. Finally, an efficient numerical check is proposed for determining
whether or not a vector bundle is slope-stable without computing its full
connection.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figure
Kahler-Einstein metrics emerging from free fermions and statistical mechanics
We propose a statistical mechanical derivation of Kahler-Einstein metrics,
i.e. solutions to Einstein's vacuum field equations in Euclidean signature
(with a cosmological constant) on a compact Kahler manifold X. The microscopic
theory is given by a canonical free fermion gas on X whose one-particle states
are pluricanonical holomorphic sections on X (coinciding with higher spin
states in the case of a Riemann surface). A heuristic, but hopefully physically
illuminating, argument for the convergence in the thermodynamical (large N)
limit is given, based on a recent mathematically rigorous result about
exponentially small fluctuations of Slater determinants. Relations to effective
bosonization and the Yau-Tian-Donaldson program in Kahler geometry are pointed
out. The precise mathematical details will be investigated elsewhere.Comment: v1: 22 pages v2: 25 pages. The relation to quantum gravity has been
further developed by working over the moduli space of all complex structures.
Relations to Donaldson's program pointed out. References adde
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