Effects of Transportation Accessibility on Residential Housing Rent: Evidence from Metropolitan City of Khulna, Bangladesh

Transportation interventions influence land use patterns of the city and transport activities of the people. For example, construction and improvement of transportation infrastructure (e.g., road, rail, road widening) improve the accessibility for the people to transportation facilities and thereby influence surrounding residential property values. Many studies have investigated the impacts of transportation infrastructure on property values using a hedonic price model (HPM). However, there is inadequate evidence of the relationship between transport infrastructure and property values in the developing context, such as in Khulna Metropolitan City, Bangladesh. Thus, this study has empirically investigated the impact of accessibility to transport infrastructure on residential housing rent using the HPM approach. For performing the analysis, data (e.g., property value, structural attributes, locational attributes, transportation, land use characteristics) were collected from a household-based questionnaire survey by Khulna Development Authority (KDA), Khulna City Corporation (KCC), and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). A linear regression model (LRM), semilog regression model (SLR), and stepwise regression model were used to determine the factors that affect housing rent. The results indicate that structural attributes (e.g., floor space, rooms) are the prime factors that influence monthly housing rent. One unit increase in floor space, drawing rooms, and bathrooms are associated with a 32.4%, 15.8%, and 11.4% increase in housing rent, respectively. Similarly, distance to the central business district (CBD) and major roads significantly affect housing rent. A one-unit increase in the distance to CBD and major roads is associated with a 17.3% and 13.7% reduction in housing rent. This study described that the exclusion of transportation attributes reduces model performance by 3.1%. Thus, transportation attributes have a significant influence on property value.