TY - JOUR
T1 - Do short-term rental platforms affect housing markets? Evidence from Airbnb in Barcelona
AU - Garcia-López, Miquel-Àngel
AU - Jofre-Monseny, Jordi
AU - Martínez-Mazza, Rodrigo
AU - Segú, Mariona
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s)
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - In this paper, we assess the impact of Airbnb on housing rents and prices in the city of Barcelona. Examining very detailed data on rents and both transaction and posted prices, we use several econometric approaches that exploit the exact timing and geography of Airbnb activity in the city. These include i) panel fixed-effects models, where we run multiple specifications that allow for different forms of heterogeneous time trends across neighborhoods, ii) an instrumental variables shift-share approach in which tourist amenities predict where Airbnb listings will locate and Google searches predict when listings appear, iii) event-study designs, and iv) finally, we present evidence from Sagrada Familia, a major tourist amenity that is not found in the city centre. Our main results imply that for the average neighborhood, Airbnb activity has increased rents by 1.9%, transaction prices by 4.6% and posted prices by 3.7%. The estimated impact in neighborhoods with high Airbnb activity is substantial. For neighborhoods in the top decile of Airbnb activity distribution, rents are estimated to have increased by 7%, while increases in transaction (posted) prices are estimated at 17% (14%).
AB - In this paper, we assess the impact of Airbnb on housing rents and prices in the city of Barcelona. Examining very detailed data on rents and both transaction and posted prices, we use several econometric approaches that exploit the exact timing and geography of Airbnb activity in the city. These include i) panel fixed-effects models, where we run multiple specifications that allow for different forms of heterogeneous time trends across neighborhoods, ii) an instrumental variables shift-share approach in which tourist amenities predict where Airbnb listings will locate and Google searches predict when listings appear, iii) event-study designs, and iv) finally, we present evidence from Sagrada Familia, a major tourist amenity that is not found in the city centre. Our main results imply that for the average neighborhood, Airbnb activity has increased rents by 1.9%, transaction prices by 4.6% and posted prices by 3.7%. The estimated impact in neighborhoods with high Airbnb activity is substantial. For neighborhoods in the top decile of Airbnb activity distribution, rents are estimated to have increased by 7%, while increases in transaction (posted) prices are estimated at 17% (14%).
KW - Housing markets
KW - Short-term rentals
KW - Airbnb
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2020.103278
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090972270&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jue.2020.103278
DO - 10.1016/j.jue.2020.103278
M3 - Article
SN - 0094-1190
VL - 119
JO - Journal of Urban Economics
JF - Journal of Urban Economics
M1 - 103278
ER -