Predicting housing prices at alternative locations and in alternative scenarios of the spatial job distribution

Alternative hedonic model formulations are used to compare predicted and observed prices of property transactions in alternative locations. The estimation of model parameters is based on data from Western Norway, and alternative model formulations primarily differ with respect to how spatial structure is represented. In addition to evaluating the predicability of alternative model formulations we also study how housing prices in different areas are affected by changes in the spatial distribution of employment. Alternative scenarios of job relocations are considered. We find, for instance, that the local impact of labor market shocks is negatively related to the degree of urbanization in the relevant region.