The impact of housing prices on residents' health: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Rising housing prices are becoming a top public health priority and are an emerging concern for policy makers and community leaders. This report reviews and synthesizes evidence examining the association between changes in housing price and health outcomes.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic literature review by searching the SCOPUS and PubMed databases for keywords related to housing price and health. Articles were screened by two reviewers for eligibility, which restricted inclusion to original research articles measuring changes in housing prices and health outcomes, published prior to June 31st, 2022.

RESULTS

Among 23 eligible studies, we found that changes in housing prices were heterogeneously associated with physical and mental health outcomes, with multiple mechanisms contributing to both positive and negative health outcomes. Income-level and home-ownership status were identified as key moderators, with lower-income individuals and renters experience negative health consequences from rising housing prices. This may have resulted from increased stress and financial strain among these groups. Meanwhile, the economic benefits of rising housing prices were seen to support health for higher-income individuals and homeowners - potentially due to increased wealth or perception of wealth.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the associations identified in this review, it appears that potential gains to health associated with rising housing prices are inequitably distributed. Housing policies should consider the health inequities born by renters and low-income individuals. Further research should explore mechanisms and interventions to reduce uneven economic impacts on health.

Can low-carbon cities increase urban housing prices? Evidence from China's low-carbon city pilot

The low-carbon transformation is a broad and profound systemic change that will inevitably impact many areas of the urban environment, economy, and social system. We evaluated the impact of China's ongoing "low-carbon pilot policy" on urban housing prices as a "quasi-natural experiment." Existing research findings and hedonic theory predictions suggest that the low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policy is increasing urban housing prices through air quality improvements. However, this study contradicts these speculations based on the situation in China. This study employed the analytical framework of staggered difference-in-differences (DID), which revealed that the LCCP policy had generally reduced housing prices; the implementation of the policy had led to an average decrease of 6.2% in housing prices in pilot cities, compared to non-pilot cities. The LCCP policy affected housing prices by influencing both the "demand side" and "supply side" of housing. In terms of the demand side, the policy significantly reduced the level of urban air pollution but did not impact housing prices. Instead, it negatively affected housing prices by lowering labor wages. In terms of the supply side, housing prices were negatively affected, mainly by increasing the cost of emission reduction of real estate enterprises, which impacted the original longstanding housing production process. Additionally, there were significant differences in the impact of the LCCP policy on housing prices in cities across different geographical locations and different tiers of cities. This study suggests important policy insights for achieving stable market housing prices and promoting high-quality urban development in the process of low-carbon transformation.

Empirical and quantitative studies of Feng Shui: A systematic review (PRISMA 2009 item 1)

Despite a long period of scholarly interest in Feng Shui, there has been no systematic review of this subject. The objective of this study was, therefore, to conduct a systematic review of empirical and quantitative Feng Shui journal articles written in Chinese or English to shed light on the nature of Feng Shui. This study identifies both existing empirical and quantitative studies of Feng Shui and directions for further research. It is the first to provide a synthesis of empirical and quantitative findings on the specific outcomes of Feng Shui, and more importantly, to explore its reliability and validity. We searched four databases, two in Chinese (Taiwan Periodical Literature and WANFANG DATA) and two in English (Web of Science and SCOPUS), and reviewed 36 articles following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA 2009). The eligibility criteria were: (1) any kind of participants or study samples; (2) any Feng Shui-related intervention; (3) comparators belonging to the same study samples or between different study samples; (4) the outcome of any empirical and quantitative measurement of Feng Shui; and (5) any study design except for qualitative studies. We used the Joanna Briggs Institute's Critical Appraisal Tools to analyze the research quality of the included articles. We found that Feng Shui was associated with housing prices in societies influenced by Chinese culture. Other findings suggested that: (1) Feng Shui was associated with the decisions of house-buyers growing up in societies influenced by Chinese culture; (2) Feng Shui forests had greater habitat diversity than other forests in China; (3) Feng Shui environments in Asia had more comfortable wind fields than non-Feng Shui settings; (4) in Asia, Feng Shui was related to sunlight; (5) Feng Shui had good reliability; and (6) Feng Shui was valid with respect to environmental features but its influence on humans has not been determined. We therefore conclude that Feng Shui is neither a superstition nor a science. Given that the research quality of the included articles was less than ideal and the number of each specific outcome and their samples were also limited, their findings should be interpreted with caution. We look forward to more good quality empirical studies of Feng Shui in the future, particularly those involving de facto field experiments recruiting non-Asian participants to provide further insights into the quasi-science of Feng Shui. (PRISMA 2009 Item 2).

The impact of COVID-19 on housing price: Evidence from China

Using data on monthly community-level confirmed COVID-19 cases and housing price in China, we investigate the impact of COVID-19 on housing price. With the difference-in-difference method, we find that the housing price of the communities with confirmed COVID-19 cases would reduce by 2.47%. The impact persists three months and the extent of the impact basically becomes greater as time goes on. The results are robust after the parallel pre-trend test and the placebo test. Moreover, the impact of COVID-19 on housing price only exists in regions with a higher infection level of COVID-19 or worse medical treatment conditions.

Epidemic shocks and housing price responses: Evidence from China's urban residential communities

This paper evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the real estate market using a community-level panel dataset of 34 major cities in China. We find that the average housing price in communities with COVID-19 infections decreases by approximately 1.3% compared to communities with no confirmed cases. The economic implication is that homebuyers are willing to pay a premium equivalent to approximately 1.3% of the average housing price to avoid health risks. The response of real estate markets to epidemic shocks is heterogeneous in community and city characteristics. Dynamic analysis shows that the declines in home prices, transaction volumes, and rents are all short-lived, returning to their original development paths a few months after the epidemic shock. Public interventions such as community closures and quarantines may have contributed to the rapid recovery of the housing market, reducing the volatility of housing assets in the household sector.

Willingness to pay for staying away from haze: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in Xi'an

Previous studies of the residents' willingness to pay (WTP) for air quality improvement are likely suffering various endogeneity biases. Exploiting the unique opportunity of a recent quasi-experiment operation of the world's first SFT (Smog Free Tower) in China's northwestern city Xi'an, this paper reliably calibrates local residents' WTP for less exposure to haze by analyzing the price responses of housings in the neighborhoods of SFT. The hedonic regression is applied in the DID (difference-in-difference) setting, with further assistances of the PSM (propensity score matching) method, quantile regression and placebo test. The regression results consistently suggest that housing price responded positively to the installment of the SFT, and the impact estimates are closely centered around 4%. The study also indicates high-priced housings response much more to the operation of the SFT than cheap-priced housings, suggesting uneven distribution of welfare gains of air quality improvement. A cost-benefit analysis of the SFT project indicates that the economic benefits of this project far outweigh the costs involved. The paper concludes with discussions of policy implications of this paper for environment governance.

Effects of Smoking, Drinking, and Urban Environment on Obesity in Seoul, Korea

BACKGROUND

The level of obesity is related to spatial characteristics around the individual. The objective of this study was to empirically analyze the effect of smoking, drinking, and urban environment on obesity in community residents.

METHODS

This study was conducted for empirical analysis using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model not considering time or space-effects, Temporal Autoregressive (TAR) model considering time-effect only, Spatial Autoregressive (SAR) model considering space-model only, and STAR model considering both time and space effects. This study covered 25 autonomous districts in Seoul City, South Korea in terms of space and from 2009 to 2014 in terms of time.

RESULTS

The STAR model yielded an adjusted R square higher than that from OLS, TAR, or SAR model. Empirical results from the STAR model showed significantly positive (+) effects of the ratio of dependent elders, ratio of smokers, ratio of drinkers, and areas of retail floor space on obesity. In contrast, effects of length of bicycle road and the amount of collected local tax on obesity were negative (-) with statistical significance.

CONCLUSION

Smoking and drinking rate and the length of bicycle road can contribute to personal obesity.