THE EFFECTS OF TRANSACTION HOTSPOTS AND FLIPPING HOTSPOTS ON HOUSING PRICES

In contrast to much of the literature that focuses on the issue of spatial dependence in housing price research, this study addresses the spatial aggregation of housing transactions and analyzes the effects of transaction hotspots and short-term flipping hotspots on housing prices by using real housing transaction data in Taipei City, Taiwan. The empirical results show that after controlling for the effects of spatial dependence and individual housing attributes, the impact of transaction hotspot areas on housing prices is significantly negative, while the impact of flipping hotspot areas on housing prices is significantly positive. The results verify that the key to driving up housing prices lies in flipping activities. Furthermore, the results of the spatial quantile regression model show that low-priced residential properties are more sensitive to the spatial concentration of housing transactions and flipping transactions in the housing market. Our results have implications for the government’s policy intending to control hot trade volumes to cool skyrocketing housing prices in a booming housing market. It is suggested that the government should pay attention to restraining short-term flipping activities in the housing market rather than setting constrains on housing transactions.