Park Proximity, Crime and Apartment Prices

Parks and open green spaces are an important part of the city landscape. Although studies show that proximity to parks and open green spaces has a mostly positive impact on house prices, several studies also report that crime in parks can affect buyers’ perceptions, making nearby properties less desirable. We examine the effects of park proximity and crime in parks on apartment prices by using geographic information systems and hedonic modelling. Our results indicate that grass parks and park blocks are more desirable than landscape parks and neighbourhood parks in Stockholm. Our findings also confirm that parks in Stockholm’s city centre have a greater impact than parks on the periphery of Stockholm. Low-crime parks affect apartment prices positively.QC 20171114