Do the vertical condominiums benefit equally the value of its neighboring buildings? An analysis to Ñuñoa, Santiago de Chile

Abstract

Several studies have shown the market premium of dwellings located within gated communities; however, no or little attention has received the effect they produce on the price of houses that surround them. This issue is very important in cities in which gated communities or other type of common interest housing communities aimed at upper-middle socioeconomic strata are confined to traditionally lower income places. From a qualitative perspective Salcedo and Torres (2004) and Caceres and Sabatini (2004) have suggested that this social proximity produces many benefits, among others, expectations of appreciation of floor of the original settlers. This research attempts to measure the impact produced by vertical condominiums recently constructed on the price of houses using an hedonic price model, based on information of used dwellings sold in Ñuñoa between 2002 and 2004. The results suggest that a medium sized condominium produces a revaluation of 4.7% in dwellings around them; although this is a local impact. The spatial analysis of the data using a geographically weighted model reveals that the marginal appreciation is higher in areas with higher incomes, whereby the patrimony of the most creditworthy households further increases its value. Therefore, the impact of the condominiums of Ñuñoa may increase tax revenues derived from the tax on land ownership; but is far from democratizing, at the microscale, the spatial distribution of housing values.