Impact of Bus Rapid Transit and Metro Rail on Property Values in Guangzhou, China

An effective transport system can increase access and raise land values; thus, governments should be able to capture part of this price premium for transit access. These revenues could be used to fund further investments in public transit or other projects. Reliable measures of the price premium for transit access can help guide governments in setting policies to capture value. Guangzhou, China, has an extensive metro rail system and the highest-capacity bus rapid transit line in China. This study examines the effects of these two public transport systems on the prices of apartments in the city by using a unique set of data collected from a mainstream Chinese real estate website. Ordinary least squares, spatial regression models, and quantile hedonic regression were used to estimate the price premium for transit access. The findings suggest that proximity to the metro and the bus rapid transit line has a substantial and statistically significant effect on apartment prices that varies by district and the amenities provided.