Geography ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 5-10-2018

Abstract

This research used data on over 2200 house sales in inner-city Houston, TX to estimate the impact of crime on house prices. A GIS was used to tabulate home sale data from the MLS, neighborhood characteristics and crime data published by the Houston Police Department. Hedonic Pricing Models were built to assess how crime effects housing price and if proximity to the criminal event matters. Results show that crime does have a measurable impact on home sale price and that proximity of crime is important. An increase in number of violent criminal events leads to a discount in home price. An increase in all criminal events (violent and non-violent) leads to an increase in home price, suggesting a dichotomy in how/when crime is reported to police.

Degree Name

Geography

Department Name

Geography

Level of Degree

Masters

First Committee Member (Chair)

Christopher Lippitt

Second Committee Member

John Carr

Third Committee Member

Robert Berrens

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Download

Included in

Geography Commons

Share

COinS