JUE Insight: COVID-19 and household preference for urban density in China

Naqun Huang, Jindong Pang and Yanmin Yang

Journal of Urban Economics, 2023, vol. 133, issue C

Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of COVID-19 on both housing prices and housing price gradients in China using transaction level data from 60 Chinese cities. After using a difference-in-differences (DID) specification to disentangle the confounding effects of China's annual Spring Festival, we find that housing prices decreased by two percent immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak but gradually recovered by September 2020. Moreover, our findings suggest that COVID-19 flattens the horizontal housing price gradient, reduces the price premium for living in tall buildings, and changes the vertical gradient within residential buildings. This is likely explained by the changing household preferences towards low-density areas associated with lower infection risk.

Keywords: COVID-19; Housing prices; Horizontal housing price gradient; Building height; Vertical gradient (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R12 R21 R30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:juecon:v:133:y:2023:i:c:s009411902200064x

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2022.103487

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