Some Thoughts on the Nature and Purpose of House Price Studies

Abstract

The paper examines the implicit assumptions made in hedonic studies of urban house prices. It is apparent that the technique can only be applied to city wide cross section analysis when sample data is capable of meaningful disaggregation. Previous uses of the technique are examined and it is suggested that the methodology is inappropriate for testing hypotheses derived from spatial residential models. Possible avenues of development for house price research are outlined.

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