The Impact of Inflation on Home Prices and the Valuation of Housing Characteristics across the Price Distribution

Applying quantile regression to over 136,000 single-family home sales in the Jacksonville, Florida area for the period 1990 to 2006, this study shows that the valuation of housing characteristics differs significantly across the quantiles of the sales price distribution. Square footage and lot size, for example, are valued much higher for higher-priced homes than for lower-priced homes. The opposite is true for the implied price of space that is not heated or air-conditioned. Interestingly, there is very little difference across quantiles in the effect of general inflation on house prices over time.