- The mental and physical benefits of having access to green spaces have been known for some time, but a new study shows it pushes property prices up
- For Earth Day 2021, CoreLogic has conducted a new study into Sydney’s housing market and “greenspace”, finding a “positive but weak” relationship between greenspace and housing prices
- CoreLogic Research Director Tim Lawless said as Australia’s climate change strategies and domestic policy evolve over the years ahead, the market’s readiness to value ‘greenness’ as a tangible property feature may strengthen
- As our cities grow and densify, it’s likely the relationship between greenspace and housing values will become clearer and more widespread, according to Lawless
- “For detached housing, as lot sizes progressively reduce, ‘smart’ designs that incorporate yard space are likely to become increasingly important and popular with buyers”
The mental and physical benefits of having access to green spaces have been known for some time, but a new study shows it commands a slight price premium.
For Earth Day 2021, CoreLogic has conducted a new study into Sydney’s housing market and “greenspace”, finding a “positive but weak” relationship between greenspace and housing prices.
“Previous research, much of it international, has highlighted the health benefits of living close to greenspace, be it private or public, as well as the housing value premium associated with having access to greenspace,” CoreLogic Research Director Tim Lawless said.
“There is also the all-important environmental benefits greenspace provides to our communities, country and climate. Our case study revealed a positive correlation between housing values and greenspace, however the correlation across the broad Sydney region was not strong, implying a lot of other factors are involved in determining the value of a residential property.”
In the study, greenspace refers to public or private land that is partly or completely covered with grass, trees, shrubs or other vegetation.
“Inherently, areas with higher population densities, such as the inner-city precincts and significant working nodes show lower amounts of private greenspace due to a predominance of multi-unit dwellings, as well as smaller lot sizes for detached homes where the dwelling often comprises a larger portion of the land,” Lawless said.
“Unsurprisingly, we can see a clearer relationship between private greenspace and housing price premiums.”
In these higher density precincts, efficient access to public greenspace becomes all the more important, according to Lawless, with a statistically significant positive relationship between unit prices and proximity to green areas such as parks and reserves.
“In areas where greenspace was scarce, such as the Eastern Suburbs and Inner City, private greenspace has a far stronger relationship with price,” he said.
“This finding is unsurprising given the high price of land and inherent scarcity of private greenspace areas in these precincts.”
Lawless said as Australia’s climate change strategies and domestic policy evolve over the years ahead, the market’s readiness to value ‘greenness’ as a tangible property feature may strengthen.
“Leaning on the findings from international studies, there are also the mental and physical health benefits that make a ‘greener’ location more desirable,” he said.
“For this reason alone, it’s important for town planning regimes to ensure existing greenspaces are preserved and newly developed areas include appropriate allowances for greenspace.”
As our cities grow and densify, it’s likely the relationship between greenspace and housing values will become clearer and more widespread, according to Lawless.
“For detached housing, as lot sizes progressively reduce, ‘smart’ designs that incorporate yard space are likely to become increasingly important and popular with buyers,” he said.
“For higher density areas, the inclusion of public greenspace areas in the planning and design is also important, with projects that offer green amenity likely to stimulate greater demand and price premiums over those that have less of a connection with green areas,” Lawless concluded.
CoreLogic said the case study was based on 2019 price data and does not attempt to establish a causal effect of greenspace on price.