Abstract:
This case study analyzes house sales transactions over a 21-year period within a compact group of inner Auckland suburbs, which represents the epicenter of the school zoning debate in New Zealand. Through use of innovative methodologies the study finds that the influence of school zoning on house price is not uniform, and the variation in price effects is largely a function of the uncertainty of future zone boundary definitions. Although some suburbs have enjoyed accelerated house price growth following the reintroduction of zoning in 2000, peripheral suburbs, price premiums have diminished.