Anticipatory Effects of Rail Upgrades: Auckland’s Western Line

We examine effects of urban passenger rail upgrades to Auckland's Western Line. The upgrades, and associated urban renewal projects, were announced in mid-2005. International experience indicates that the anticipated benefits of the upgrades should be factored into people's location and pricing decisions on announcement.

We utilise unit record house sale price data, using a new repeat-sales methodology, to measure house price appreciation, testing the hypothesis that price appreciation is affected by proximity to Western Line stations.

We find statistically significant rises in values of houses located near stations upon announcement.