Estimating the Impacts Urban Universities on Neighborhood Housing Markets

Abstract

This study investigates the impact associated with urban universities on local neighborhood housing markets from 1980 to 1990. The study answers two central questions. First, is neighborhood proximity to a public or private urban university associated with systematic, significant impacts on average monthly rental payments and average owner-occupied housing unit value? If so, do these impacts vary between these university types? The study finds that the characteristics of neighborhoods abutting universities are significantly different fromneighborhoods citywide. Moreover, neighborhood adjacency to both the public and private institutions was associated with statistically significant effects, albeit dissimilar.