Heterogeneity in housing attribute prices : A study of the interaction behaviour between property specifics, location coordinates and buyers’ characteristics

Purpose – The paper aims to analyse the Shenzhen housing market. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses an empirical case study using hedonic modelling that includes not only the property specifics, but also the spatial (via { X , Y } coordinates) and household (buyer's) characteristics. Two expansion models are employed to examine the spatial and socio‐economic heterogeneities in housing attribute prices. Findings – The results provide strong evidence that the marginal prices of key housing attributes are not constant but vary with household profile and absolute‐location context within Shenzhen's housing market. Research limitations/implications – Examining housing market behaviour in major Chinese cities should eventually be approached more explicitly with the development of China's official statistical system. Originality/value – Largely supported by the valuable transaction data, this paper makes initial and valuable attempts to examine the interaction behaviour between property specifics, location coordinates and buyers’ characteristics within one of the very complex and immature housing markets, namely Shenzhen, China.