Representing accessibility in property valuations and willingness-to-pay

Abstract

The objective of the study is to determine how well different measures of accessibility represent household and market preferences in property valuations. Specifically, the authors explore the appropriateness, advantages, and limitations of personalized accessibility measures [consumer surplus, activity-based accessibility (ABA)] compared to aggregate accessibility measures (gravity-based accessibility). Similarly, the authors compare accessibility measures that account for individuals’ daily activity schedules (ABA) to those that do not (consumer surplus, gravity-based accessibility). Furthermore, the authors consider different approaches to aggregating personalized measures when necessary. Namely, a household’s willingness-to-pay should reflect a summary of the accessibility of its members, and the market price for a property should reflect a summary of the market’s accessibility preferences. The authors conduct their study in the context of Singapore.