IMPACT OF ACCESSIBILITY AND AMENITIES ON HDB RESALE PRICES

Abstract

This study seeks to examine the impact of accessibility and amenities on HDB resale prices. The main hypothesis of this research is that the impact of locational attributes such as accessibility factors and amenities will result in price variations among HDB towns. This hypothesis is operationalized by a multiple linear regression. Results for the hedonic model, based on 4791 HDB resale transactions and sixteen locational attributes, conclude that the combined effect of accessibility factors and amenities results in an 8.44% increase on housing prices. When the data is stratified into the five HDB towns under study, it was found each HDB town had a different premium from the combined effect of locational attributes, with Ang Mo Kio having the largest premium of 6.72% whereas Woodlands has the least of 2.43%. These variations in premiums across the HDB towns prove the main hypothesis that locational attributes causes inter-HDB town price variations. This study has relevant implications for the real estate market. It can serve as a guide for urban planners of new HDB towns in the provision of locational attributes preferred by home buyers so that homebuyers would be more indifferent between new and mature HDB towns. This paper also aids buyers and sellers to quantify the impact of various locational attributes on HDB prices so as to estimate the property values and make well-informed choices.