The socio spatial substructure of the Australian city: how well does it explain house price?

Purpose – This paper aims to show how social and economic differentiation that has become a feature of Australian cities and the urban housing literature emphasises the value in understanding such differentiation as an explanation of housing demand. Design/methodology/approach – Using a consistent set of variables from the 2011 ABS Census of Housing and Population, this paper uses factor analysis to identify the socio spatial substructure of housing markets at suburb level for five mainland Australian cities. Findings – The relative importance of this socio substructure in explaining median house price is determined for each city. The paper also identifies where the socio spatial structure is mismatched against expected house price and an explanation is offered for these anomalies. Originality/value – The study is innovative in that it reveals, at suburb level, districts in each city where there is a marked divergence between the prices being paid for property and the socioeconomic makeup of the local community.