Value of Access to Jobs and Amenities: Evidence from New Residential Properties in Beijing

With the rapid urbanization of Chinese cities, access to jobs and amenities is becoming increasingly valued in household's choice of residential locations. In this paper, we estimate the implicit value of access to jobs and amenities in Beijing using the hedonic pricing model. The spatial distributions of jobs and amenities in the Beijing Metropolitan Area are quite centralized, supporting the traditional monocentric model in the urban economics literature. Accessibility indices are developed to measure the accessibilities to jobs and amenities of 129 Jiedaos (residential zones). We then employ the hedonic pricing equations to estimate the capitalization effects of these accessibility indices in the prices of new residential properties. The empirical results show that the accessibility indices are important determinants of residential property prices in Beijing, which means that urban residents have a willingness to pay for access to high quality amenities.