The price of a view: Estimating the impact of view on house prices

Houses with desired aesthetic views have a price premium over similar houses without such views. This article raises the following questions in relation to view as a location-specific amenity: How can we calculate a reliable indicator for view using available information? Are dwellings with a view sold for a premium compared to otherwise similar properties? Using more than 5,000 house transactions in the Illawarra region in Australia, and applying hedonic price method, the study analyses the price effects of key aesthetic views. Due to unavailability of view as a housing characteristic within historical records, spatial analysis tools were used to estimate views for housing locations. The results confirm the significance of aesthetic views in explaining house prices. Beach view is the most important aesthetic view. An increase of 1% of beach view drives house prices up by nearly 2-3%. Significant positive contributions to prices are also evident from sea, conservation area and inland water views. In addition to the views, other location-specific attributes also influence house prices. Methods developed in this study to quantify the value of aesthetic views and location-specific characteristics associated with residential locations form an important contribution to urban planning and policy development