Exploring Spatial Dynamics with Land Price Indexes

The purpose of this study is to explore the within-region spatial dynamics of appreciation and depreciation rates using three different representations of geographical space. Mean value indexing methods are used to construct global land price indexes, sub-market land price indexes and local land price indexes using transaction price data for vacant residential land within the City of Hamilton, Ontario, between 1995 and 2003. The results are validated against Statistics Canada’s series of New Housing Price Indexes, followed by a comparison of the relative performance of the three geographical representations of land price indexes. The results indicate that the mean value indexing methods are robust, although subject to outliers and sample selection bias, and clearly illustrate the spatial dynamics of annual appreciation and depreciation rates across the study area. The results also underscore the need for regular surveillance of the spatial dynamics of urban land markets.