Work

Exploring nonlinear relationships between street quality and housing prices: A comparison of sales and rentals

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Understanding the economic effects of street quality on real estate is important for urban renewal and social equity. Although some studies have examined the non-monotonic correlation between residential property values and street views, few have compared the disparate influences of street quality on rental versus sales prices. This study collected housing sales and rental prices in Guangzhou, China, and incorporated street quality indicators to enrich the hedonic price model. We then adopted random forest analysis and generated accumulated local effect plots to reveal and compare these nonlinear relationships. The results show that the street quality surrounding communities can account for about 40 % of both rental and sales price, and homebuyers have a stronger preference for street comfort than renters. The RF model effectively captures the curvilinear relationship between street quality characteristics and housing prices. While the general nonlinear trend for the same indicator on rental and sales prices is consistent, the threshold values for some quality indicators differ significantly. For example, the threshold range for the positive correlation between local closeness and rental prices is approximately 0–1300, which is wider than the range for sales prices (0–118). This study overcomes the limitations of the hedonic price model and deficiencies in the interpretability of traditional linear approaches. Our findings encourage planners to create high-quality street spaces to meet the diverse needs of tenants and buyers.

Source: Journal of Urban Management

DOI: 10.1016/j.jum.2025.09.004