Within-City Spatial Distribution, Heterogeneity and Diffusion of House Price: Evidence from a Spatiotemporal Index for Beijing

Within-city house prices can be a very complicated system, in which the local prices may significantly differ in both levels and changes and diffuse across locations. These issues are essential for understanding and interpreting the dynamics of city-level housing markets. In this study, we construct a constant-quality spatiotemporal price index for Beijing's resale housing market between 2011 and 2015, which serves as a common basis for our multi-perspective and comprehensive analysis on within-city house price patterns. As suggested by the spatial distribution and local structures, the local price levels are not homogeneous or fully amenable to a simple structure. The local price changes, likewise, are not synchronized in terms of either price trend or structural break-point. However, the within-city house prices still display clear patterns. The local price levels, trends and breakpoints can be partially explained by local amenities or socioeconomic factors and the local price changes diffuse between neighboring areas. These findings deliver deep insights into within-city housing markets and have important implications for urban planning and housing investment.