The effect of local amenities on house price appreciation amid market shocks: The case of school quality

Combining the strengths of price index and boundary fixed effects models, this paper examines the factors leading to spatial house price appreciation divergences during market shocks. Specifically, I focus on the relationship between school quality and house price appreciation rates during the period of rapid house price increases and decreases between 2000 and 2012. I find that appreciation rates diverge across school districts in Franklin County, OH during the entire time period. Results identified through spatial-temporal boundary controls provide evidence that standardized test scores positively drive this relationship during the housing market decline in the latter half of the period from 2007 to 2012; in contrast, there is no overall relationship between school quality and appreciation rates during the preceding period of housing price increases from 2000 to 2006.