This paper discusses some of the chief influences on the urban housing market and their significance for economic analysis. It then looks comparatively at the 'trade-off' approach and the sub-markets approach. Results from an empirical study of owner-occupier housing in Bristol are presented. Although spatial clusters of households and housing types clearly emerged, the empirical tests showed that such spatial structures did not produce separate sub-markets with independent price structures. The data also confirmed a general tendency for unit prices to decline with distance from the centre, but the authors question the importance of the 'trade-off' theory's accessibility factor relative to historical features and planning policies.
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