The Perception of the Vertical Dimension (3D) through the Lens of Different Stakeholders in the Property Market of China

Abstract

China has experienced fast urbanization with a growing urban population, which has inevitably led to the adoption of a vertical housing style with high-rise buildings. However, how people subjectively perceive the vertical dimension (3D) in the property market is neither adequately documented nor well understood. The 3D perception helps us to understand a myriad of social and psychological effects of living in high-rise buildings. We organized and conducted semi-structured expert interviews, focus groups, and the circulation and compilation of questionnaires in Xi’an, China, to investigate how different stakeholders in the property market perceive 3D. The results show that: (1) real estate developers do not adjust property prices for specific 3D factors, and the local government does not consider 3D in housing policies; (2) the current status of 3D modeling in Xi’an is still in the embryonic state; (3) 3D factors are highly valued by buyers but not well-understood by real estate developers and local government. In addition, 3D factors score higher than horizontal (2D) factors (by 1.12 to 0.88). Gender and age groups do not influence housing preferences concerning 2D and 3D factors. These findings provide valuable insights for real estate developers concerning pricing policies and the local government concerning housing policies. In the future, 3D perceptions and factors should be prioritized in order to improve urban infrastructure and ensure the increased availability of, and fair public access to welfare related to 3D in urban areas.

Toward 3D Property Valuation—A Review of Urban 3D Modelling Methods for Digital Twin Creation

“…In Zhao, Liu [20], noise distribution had a clear impact: the closer the proximity to the road, the higher the concentration; the higher the storey level, the lower the concentration. Ying, Koeva [8] confirmed that people had diverse 3D housing preferences, e.g., more people preferred to live at a high-storey level in a high-rise residential building. In analogy, air quality also partially depended on the 3D building configuration [67].…”

“…VR aims to create immersive environments for buyers and facilitate their understanding of the indoor and outdoor environments of the properties [53]. Current works have, on one hand, suggested VR plays an important role in housing purchase decision-making [54,55]; on the other hand, its usefulness in a flourishing housing market, the credibility to reflect reality, and the high cost were questioned as well [8]. The potential of VR rather than visualisation only deserves to be further explored.…”

“…Sunlight conditions may vary significantly from the 1st to the 30th floor due to blocks from adjacent buildings and trees. In addition, the properties close to the road may have worse air quality and louder noise than those remote from the road due to traffic influx [8]. Nevertheless, as evidenced by the literature, most valuation studies apply 2D geoinformation to generate 2D factors in the hedonic price model (HPM), a model that has been widely adopted for estimating property prices by setting a variety of attributes [9][10][11][12].…”

Three-dimensional land-use configuration and property prices: A spatially filtered multi-level modelling perspective

“…There is a dearth of empirical work exploring such relationships in the context of China. A survey conducted by Ying et al (2022) revealed that Chinese house buyers highly valued the three-dimensional factors of neighbourhoods, but it seems that local authorities and real estate developers have not yet emphasised these elements. Detailed analysis on how horizontal and vertical land-use configuration in immediate and broader neighbourhoods is related to property value remains scarce; this study addresses this research gap.…”