The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the impact of urban design quality variables on real estate value through comparative performance analysis of the residential, office and retail sectors. Based on the highly intangible nature of design and the controversy surrounding the approach to measuring quality, real estate value is considered the best means to capture the implicit prices of different aspects of quality. In order to quantify these aspects the research uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to introduce a set of measurable elements of good urban design. The framework for this approach is based on the principles of utility theory and employs the hedonic pricing method to measure quality aspects. This constitutes a unique attempt to explicitly identify and model the aspects of quality design and measure their added value to real estate. The intra-sectoral focus informed a holistic approach to quality design which consisted of the formulation of three different hedonic models, one for each 'measurable' sector in core urban locations. Ordinary Least Squares Regression was used to estimate the equations for a unique dataset of property transactions in Belfast City Centre. The fmal database was characterised by a sectoral categorisation and comprised 424 apartments sold between 2000 and 2008, 279 commercial offices rented during the period 1995-2009 and 301 retail units rented between 1994 and 2009. The main fmdings suggest that aspects of quality design such as context/identity, connectivity/permeability of the urban fabric, vitality and liveability of the surroundings and appropriate quality of construction material add real estate value. Other outcomes of interest were attributed to the peculiarity of the study area, sectoral characteristics and property cycles. This implies that in addition to the widely accepted place-specificity, urban design is highly dependent on the factors that drive the real estate markets.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:550564 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Nase, Ilir |
| Publisher | University of Ulster |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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