1. This paper investigates how the district heating service in China affects land prices in the primary transaction market.
2. The hedonic pricing model is used to quantify the values of houses and land parcels, assuming a rational buyer should accurately evaluate the fair value of each attribute of a housing unit or land parcel.
3. The price discount in the south in the heating period is approximately 7.1% of the unit price, and this effect is stronger for smaller area land parcels purchased by individual buyers.
The article “Acquiring Land in Cold Winter: Consequences and Possible Explanations” provides an interesting analysis on how adverse weather conditions can affect long-term investment decisions such as buying houses and land parcels. The authors use a hedonic pricing model to quantify the values of houses and land parcels, assuming a rational buyer should accurately evaluate the fair value of each attribute of a housing unit or land parcel. They find that there is a 7.1% price discount in the south during heating periods compared to non-heating periods, which is stronger for smaller area land parcels purchased by individual buyers.
The article appears to be reliable overall, as it provides evidence from empirical data and robustness checks to support its claims. However, there are some potential biases that could be addressed more thoroughly in future research. For example, while the authors discuss possible explanations for their results such as projection bias and incorrect belief, they do not provide any evidence to support these claims or explore counterarguments that could challenge them. Additionally, they do not consider other factors that could potentially influence land prices such as economic conditions or local regulations that may have changed over time during their study period. Furthermore, while they mention that sellers are local governments and buyers are individuals, firms, and other entities, they do not provide any further information about who these buyers are or what their motivations might be for purchasing land parcels in cold winter months when prices are discounted compared to other times of year.
In conclusion, this article provides an interesting analysis on how adverse weather conditions can affect long-term investment decisions such as buying houses and land parcels; however, it does not address all potential biases or explore counterarguments that could challenge its findings. Future research should consider additional factors that could influence land prices as well as explore counterarguments more thoroughly in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon.