Analysis of house prices: a hedonic model proposal for Istanbul metropolitan area

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of housing price differences in Istanbul Metropolitan Area. Factors that affect house prices in Istanbul are investigated by Hedonic Regression Model with spatial variables. House Price taken in natural Log form as dependent variable and house characteristics, neighborhood characteristics and transportation infrastructure taken as independent variables. Location of houses on Europe continent has more impact on value than Asian part of the city. As the Istanbul city spread out new neighborhood areas are also developed with new characteristics. And those houses are sold according to amenities they surrounded by are spatially autocorrelated. House prices are examined in Istanbul by taking into consideration sub-market characteristics to identify localized factors. In the model distance to green areas, ports, proximity to metro stations, shopping malls, hospitals have positive but insignificant; proximity to earthquake fault lines, public bus transportation, industrial zones have negative and significant effect on prices.