Factors affecting housing prices in Izmir, Turkey: a quantile regression approach

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the main factors that affect the house prices in Izmir, Turkey using the quantile regression and ordinary least square approaches. Design/methodology/approach - Sample data about the housing market for Izmir collected from the web pages of various real estate agencies during June 2018. Following this, the quantile regression method is used to estimate all possible effects of variables on each interested quantile to determine the factors that affect house prices to guide the potential consumers, house developers, city planners and the policymakers in Izmir, Turkey. Findings - Results show that the age of the house, central heating and parking have no significant effect on prices. The size of the house, the existence of an elevator, fire and security have a positive and significant effect on prices. The number of rooms has lower values for high-priced houses, while the floor, the number of balconies, air conditioning, proximity to schools have a higher value for high-priced houses. The number of toilets, the number of bathrooms and the distance to the hospital have a lower value on the high-priced housing. The value of the distance from the city center and the shopping center is almost uniform in all quantiles and lowers the value of the higher-priced houses. With the exception of the value of the houses in the 10th percentile in Balcova district, the value of the houses in Konak, Balcova and Narlidere is lower prices in Karsiyaka. Originality/value - This is the first comprehensive research to determine the major factors that affect house prices in Izmir. The second contribution of this paper is that it includes all possible variables and accordingly derives adequate policy implications, which could be used both by the public housing authority and private housing constructing companies in designing and implementing effective housing policies.