Intra‐urban changes in housing prices: Glasgow 1972–83

Abstract

Despite the widely acknowledged importance of house prices and the rate of house price appreciation within the urban system there has been relatively little empirical work to explore intra-urban differentials in these factors. This has been due in some part to the lack of any longitudinal microdata on house prices. This paper uses a unique database held in Glasgow to examine small area change through the decade 1972-83. In particular the wide variations in the rate of house price appreciation will be discussed and related to the characteristics of the houses and their neighbourhoods, as well as local policy on improvements. The observed patterns of price change are somewhat counter intuitive and point to the dangers of making a priori assumptions about the workings of housing markets. We are able to show that in Glasgow an extremely depressed labour market has not led to a depressed housing market.

The use and abuse of housing tenure

“…As with housing class, the debate is drawn into a discussion of social stratification and social class in general But even if there were such housing position effects, tenure provides at best a very approximate measure, and quite possibly a misleading one. For example, Munro and Maclennan (1987) show on an intra-urban scale how house price changes are exceedingly variable, both up and down, seemingly related to a whole range of localised demand and supply factors as well as wider economic and political trends. Other researchers have shown how the material basis of tenure differences -the rights and duties of owners and occupiers -have themselves varied over time and from one area to another (eg Kemp, 1987).…”

Do house prices rise that much? A dissenting view

“…Further qualifications have recently been made along the lines that house owners do not gain equally. There are large regional differentials in prices (see for example Hamnett, 1989b), those with higher incomes, and more expensive houses gain most, at least in absolute terms (see for example Munro and Maclennan, 1987). Similarly, a principal means by which real capital gains are made (as opposed to paper ones) -inheritance and equity withdrawal -is probably highly skewed with upper-income groups gaining most (see for example Forrest and Murie, 1989).…”

Intra-Metropolitan House Price Movements: An Analysis of Stockholm 1981-1993

“…They tried to explain these price difference by scarcity of land, labour and materials, and by existence of local development restrictions. Munro and Mclennan (1987) in their study later for Glasgow also stressed the importance of explaining difference in prices based on regional develop ments.…”

“…According to classical models of urbar rent in Muth-Mills tradition, the rate of house price appreciation should not be uniform across submarkets within a metropolitan area (e. g. deLeeuw and Struyk , 1975;Muth, 1975;and Rose-Ackerman, 1975). However, with few exceptions (e. g. Rachlis and Yezer,1985;Case and Shiller, 1989;Case and Mayer,1995;Munro and Mclennan , 1987) the variation in price movements within a metropolitan area has not been formally documented .…”

“…In an early article Munro and Mclennan (1987) pointed out the impor tance of intra-urban analysis of house prices. Their study on Glasgow indicates a different pattern than national price movements.…”