Factors influencing the value of houses: Estimates for the city of Cagliari, Italy

The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between housing values and a set of determinants, related both to the urban environment and to the structural characteristics of the housing market, in the metropolitan area of Cagliari. In order to achieve this aim, a sample of residential properties spread across the urban context was taken into account. For every single residential unit we study the value of houses, identified as their estimated value, cadastral value, rent value, value supplied by the National Observatory on Real Estate Market, and finally sale value as related to factors which are identified as relevant variables in several studies concerning the real estate market. The adopted approach implies data collection concerning value and characteristics of houses. The resulting dataset is geocoded and spatially analyzed, in order to identify spatial autocorrelation of the value of houses and its correlations with respect to the characteristics of houses through the hedonic approach. The methodological approach can be easily replicated and exported with reference to other Italian and European urban contexts and results could be straightforwardly comparable. Policy implications of the findings could be a point of reference for future Italian and European planning policies concerning housing markets and the improvement of the quality of urban life. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.