Residential properties, resources of basic education and willingness price of buyers : Based on the data of districts and counties in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen

Purpose– China's resource allocation mechanism in education has become an important factor in determining residential access to educational resources. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impacts made by the individual natures of buyers, the external environment, as well as the characteristics of residential properties on the willingness price of buyers. The study's aim is to lay theoretical foundations for the determination of problems related with the matters under consideration. Design/methodology/approach - Using the panel data of 54 districts and counties in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the study unifies macro factors and micro factors in a model for empirical analysis. Findings– Basic education resources can affect housing prices via the “capitalization of education.” The degree of those educational resources’ influence on willingness price changes according to personal income levels, standards of living, housing price fluctuations, the convenience of the residential area and the degrees of urbanization in a district. The greater the buyer's income and standard of living is, the higher is their willingness price. Buyers in urbanized areas prefer increases in educational resources. Increased educational resources increase the values of residential downtown areas. In developed areas with private educational facilities, the role of educational resources in influencing property prices is relatively small. Originality/value– This paper uses data concerning the consumption and investment of residential properties to build a theoretical model for the willingness price of buyers. It unifies macro factors and micro factors in a single model and presents new results about basic education resources and the willingness price of buyers under different conditions.