Morphological and GIS-based land use Analysis: A Critical Exploration of a Ru...
JOURNAL 1 - THE EFFECT OF ACCESSIBILITY ON RENTAL VALUES OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY VALUE IN BENIN CITY (EDITED)
1. Accessibility as A Factor Affecting Rental Values Of Residential
Property In Benin City
Asikhia O. Monday
Department of Geography and Regional Planning,
University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria
Email: asikhia@hotmail.com; Tel: +2348034661595
Eghagha W. Nicholas
Department of Geography and Regional Planning,
University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria
Email: nicex230@gmail.com Tel: +2347061526922
Abstract Physical accessibility is a major factor affecting land, property and rental values in
an urban center. The relevance of this is seen in the fact that accessibility is almost totally hinged
on the nature and state of roads. This paper examined the road network pattern in three
neighbourhoods of Benin City with the aim of empirically determining that the accessibility of the
roads had a profound effect on the rental values of residential property located on them. Primary
and secondary data were used in the analysis. In all 300 questionnaires were administered in three
neighbourhoods where respondents were randomly selected along major streets, but 287 returned
valid for analysis. The graph of the road network of each neighbourhood was derived from their
street maps, and the graph theory was used to determine the level of accessibility on the individual
roads. This was related to the rental values of residential properties located on them as portrayed
in value maps, while correlation analysis was use to prove the relationship between the variables.
The result showed that accessibility had a significant influence on variation in rental values of
residential property in Benin City. The study recommends that road networks in the city should be
improved upon to enhance the value of residential properties to benefit not only government, but
also the owners and occupiers of these properties. Since accessibility facilitates greater circulation
and ease of movement, the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of these roads can
ultimately enhance the quality of life in the study area.
Keywords: accessibility, residential property, rental value, road network, neighbourhood
2. 1
INTRODUCTION
Transportation is an important element in the physical and socio-economic development of
cities all over the world. Research has shown that as transportation network expands, the level of
accessibility also increases together with property and rental values. Accessibility not only provides
relative advantages to commercial properties but also to residential properties. Accessibility as used
here is seen from its physical dimension. By physical dimension, accessibility refers to the time and
spatial distance that separate the individual from resources. This ranges from the relative
accessibility of an individual from his place of residence to transportation routes, schools, hospitals,
and employment center. Urban households usually derive their income from places of employments
which require daily trips between the residential area and the workplace. Also they must make
regular trips to school, shopping, recreation, etc., and even visit relatives and friends. Therefore
they would like to reside in neighbourhoods that are relatively advantageous in terms of
accessibility to these locations. In other words, accessibility means that the household would reside
in a neighbourhood where they do not incur more than very modest movement costs in getting to
productive resources within the neighbourhood or within the city.
Perhaps, in terms of the relative explanatory powers of the externalities affecting the rent,
property and land values; accessibility is the most significant element. This assertion would be
appreciated, against the background that location characteristics tend to influence the consideration
in the design and construction of a home, and its rental value. Prime locations are easily accessible
and will maximize high rental values to equate the adequate structural and internal facilities
provided in such a property . However not all areas or neighbourhoods in an urban center are
prime locations that are equally accessible with highly valued properties. There are those old
neighbourhoods in the city center where the quality of housing is very poor while the accessibility
3. 2
level is very high and also those intermediate and peripheral neighbourhoods that are further away
from the city center experiencing poor accessibility level with houses that of lower rental value and
poor quality. This variation thus elicits the need for a research of this nature. The aim of this study
is to examine accessibility as a factor affecting rental values of residential property in Benin City,
while considering the road network pattern and the accessibility and connectivity levels of the roads
in the city.
Although several studies have shown that the state of road which facilitates accessibility,
impacts positively and negatively on rent, many have yet ignored the road network pattern which
helps to determine the individual contribution of each road to rental variation. In this respect
therefore, this research will adopt the graph theory to examine the accessibility of individual roads
and determine its relationship with rental values of residential property in Benin City. The
importance of this research to government, policy makers and urban planners alike is on the need to
formulate policies that will ensure that the state of roads in the city in general is improved upon side
by side with accessibility and residential property rent.
RELATED STUDIES
While several studies have been carried out to establish the relationship between
accessibility and property values (Dewees, 1976; Singh, 2005), rental value (Robert, 1996), and
land price (Damm, Lemer-Lann, and Young, 1980); only but a few have measured accessibility in
relation to property value using the graph theory (Oni, 2009). William, Davies and Johnson (1980)
argue that a major consideration which determines rent of residential properties is accessibility.
This is because the prospective occupier will consider the nature, value and quality of
accommodation offered in terms of accessibility to basic amenities, school, hospitals and
4. 3
recreational facilities, and the time of travel or proximity to work. Harvey (1999) was of similar
view when he stated that the rental value of a residential property is determined by accessibility of
the user of a property to the property. The rent in question is practically a function of its advantage
in terms of accessibility (residential location) together with convenience and amenities. He further
stated that the importance of accessibility is illustrated in the utility of particular sites in a
neighbourhood such as schools, shops, and open spaces, and the travelling cost to work. These are
dependent upon the ease of movement, which is derived from the accessibility and connectivity of
the arterial roads to maintain human and vehicular traffic. This is probably why Ader amo
(2003) stated that transportation has a profound effect on property and rental value. Balchin, et al
(2000), noted that although accessibility might lead to an increase in rent, it is the relative
advantage of a neighbourhood in terms of housing quality, safety, and socio-economic
characteristics of the resident population that will encourage prospective tenant to go for such
properties. High demand to settle in such a neighbourhood, whether it is highly accessible or not
can only cause an increase in the rent or value of its properties.
THE STUDY AREA
Benin City is the capital and largest urban center in Edo State. The city itself is located at
between latitude 619N and 613N and longitude 536E and 560E in the tropical belt of the
rainforest region of Nigeria. The city is made up of four LGAs namely; Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba-Okha,
and Ovia-Northeast. However with respect to this study, Egor and Oredo were the source LGAs for
the selected neighbourhoods; Ogboka and GRA in Oredo Local Government Area, and Ugbowo in
Egor Local Government Area. Both local government areas account for a higher proportion of the
urbanized section of Benin City. Oredo is located in the south central part sharing boundaries with
5. 4
Egor to the north, Ikpoba-Okha to the east and Ovia North-East to the west. Egor is bordered by
Ovia North-East to the north and west, Oredo to the south and Ikpoba-Okha to the east. Studies
have shown that Benin City consist of four distinct residential zones. The zones are the traditional
core area, intermediate area, urban fringe and planned settlement areas (Ogu, 2005). First is the
traditional/core area which is in the inner most part of the city, and highly populated by the natives.
It has the highest population and residential land use densities. Next is the intermediate zone which
has a lower residential land use and population density than the core area due to its substantial
migrant population. There are also the urban fringes which were largely developed in the early
1970s and have become part of the city as a result of the urban expansion that has occurred in the
last few decades. Some of the localities in this zone were formerly isolated villages incorporated by
the rapidly expanding city. The last zone is the planned settlement areas which are associated with
low to medium residential land use and population densities. From these four distinct residential
zones in Benin City, three neighbourhoods have been selected to distinguish the variation in
income, population density and level of residential development in the study area. They are;
Low income, high population density, poorly developed and unplanned residential area;
Ogboka
Middle income, medium population density, developing but planned residential area; Ugbowo
High income, low population density, highly developed and planned residential area; GRA
6. 5
Figure 1: Benin City Showing the SelectedNeighbourhoods
Source: Ministry of Lands and Survey, Benin City (2013)
MATERIALS AND METHOD
This is a cross sectional survey study. The primary data was collected through the
administration of questionnaires. The residential classification based on population densities and
income levels are used. Three types of neighbourhoods are identified as shown in Figure 1. The
7. 6
samples for this study are residential properties in the stratified neighbourhoods in the study area. In
determining the sample size that is adequate for this study, the research sought to define a sample of
tenement population to ensure at least 95 level of confidence and that probable error of using a
sample rather than surveying the whole population did not exceed 0.05. Using the derived value for
the combine household unit for Oredo and Egor LGAs as the population size, the sample size for
this study was determined to be 300. . In this case, the questionnaire was administered in relation to
the population density of each neighbourhood in the ratio; 40:35:25 in Ogboka, Ugbowo and GRA
respectively. Consequently, one questionnaire was administered per household. In a situation where
more than one household resides in a particular property, only one household was interviewed. The
interview was targeted only at the head of a household, but in the absence of the head, the spouse
was interviewed.
The graph theory was used in computing the level of accessibility of each road. This was
done using a weighted accessibility index; as modified from the price-weighted index. The
weighted accessibility index is an index in which the individual nodal points on each road are
weighted in proportion to the sum of their shortest paths travel and rank. Weighted here, refers to
the mathematical practice of adjusting the component of an index to reflect the importance of
certain characteristics; in this case, the level of accessibility of each road. It should be noted
however, that the lesser the paths travelled to a node, the higher the rank and accessibility of that
node. To compute the weighted accessibility index, nodes with lower accessibility index will
receive lesser weight in the index. Thus, a road with more nodes of lower accessibility index will
have a lower weighted accessibility index but a higher level of accessibility. Accordingly, if the
nodes that encompass a road were more of those of lower accessibility indices, the level of
8. 7
accessibility on that road was more likely to be higher even if the other nodes on that road were of
higher accessibility indices.
In operationalizing the weighted accessibility index for the selected roads in each
neighbourhood, Equation 3.2 as formulated from the price index formula is used.
ā = Σ (rn·an)
Σ (an)
where,
ā = weighted accessibility index
an = accessibility indices of nodal points
rn = ranks of nodal points
Furthermore in the collection of secondary data to operationalize the graph theory, the linear
graph of the road network in each neighbourhood was derived and traced out using the
CorelDrawX3 workspace. The resulting graphs were analyzed to determine the weighted
accessibility of each road regardless of its width, quality, shape and standard. However what was
considered was taking the shortest route where possible as obtained from the shimbel accessibility
matrices. This is shown for each neighbourhood in the Figures below.
9. 8
Figure 2: Road Network in Ogboka Converted Into Planar Graph
Source: Authors’ Analysis
15. 14
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The study focused on assessing the effect of accessibility on variation in rental values of
residential properties in Benin City. The graph analysis which was centered on specific
neighbourhoods as mentioned above provided answers to the question of whether the level of
accessibility of roads had a substantial impact on rental values of adjoining residential properties.
The graph theory was used to measure the level of accessibility of each road and it was found that
residential properties located on more accessible roads had higher rental values while those located
on the least accessible roads had lower rental values. These findings are discussed and shown in the
Tables and Figures below.
Table 1: Rental Value in relation to Accessibility of Individual Roads in Ogboka
Arterial Road Weighted Accessibility Mean Range Category
Index Mean
Ozah Street 11.0
9.3
7,500
Above N5,000 A
Agbado Street 4.8 7,100
Igbesamwan Road 8.7 6,400
Aruosa Street 12.7 5,400
Owina Street 15.6
14.6
4,300
N3,001 – N5,000 BIgun Street 13.6 3,900
Evbohan Street 14.7 3,900
Ezoba Street 15.9
17.5
2,900
Below N3,001 CEguadase Street 19.0 2,500
Source: Author’s Analysis (2013)
Table 1 shows the rental values in relation to the weighted accessibility index of each road
in Ogboka. Three categories of residential properties can be identified based on range of mean
rental values in relation to accessibility. Category A which has residential properties of the highest
rental values (Above N5,000), are located on highly accessible roads (9.3). These roads are Ozah
Street, Agbado Street, Igbesamwan Road and Aruosa Street. Category B has residential properties
of the next highest rental values (N3,001 - N5,000) and are located on moderately accessible roads
(14.6). These roads are Owina Street, Igun Street and Evbohan Street. Residential properties with
16. 15
the lowest rental values (Below N3,001) fall in category C and are located on the least accessible
roads. These are Ezoba Street and Eguadase Street. Consequently this variation in rental value
along with accessibility of the roads in Ogboka, is shown on a value map shown (Figure 8)
Fig 8: Value Map Showing Spatial Variation in Rental Values with Accessibility in
Ogboka
Source: Author’s Analysis (2013)
Table 2: Rental Value in relation to Accessibility of Individual Roads in Ugbowo
17. 16
Arterial Road
Weighted Accessibility
Mean Range CategoryIndex Mean
Lucky Street 10.5
15.0
33,800
Above
N30,000 A
Bendel Street 19.6 33,200
Irowa Street 23.0 31,100
FGGC Road 7.9 30,000
Jonathan Street 20.2
14.0
29,200
N20,001
-
N30,000
B
19th Street 19.8 28,900
Omage Street 5.6 28,500
Adolor Road 10.4 27,500
15th Street 16.7 26,500
Nova Road 18.5 25,000
Police Road 7.3 25,000
Sebastian St 24.0 25,000
Ogbeidie St 10.5 24,200
Ighomo Street 11.5 22,500
Uwasota Road 10.5 20,800
Technical Road 25.5
26.0
17,500 Below
20,001 DEgboni Street 26.6 17,500
Source: Authors’ Analysis (2013)
Table 2 shows the rental values in relation to the weighted accessibility index of each road
in Ugbowo. Three categories of residential properties can be identified based on range of mean
rental values in relation to accessibility. Category A which has residential properties of the highest
rental values (N30,001 & above), are located on moderately accessible roads (15.0). These roads
are Lucky Street, Bendel Street, Irowa Street and FGGC Road. Category B has residential
properties of the next highest rental values (N20,001 – N30,000) but are located on highly
accessible roads (14.0). These roads are Jonathan Street, 19th Street, Omage Street, Adolor Road,
15th Street, Nova Road, Police Road, Sebastian Street, Ogbeidie Street, Ighomo Street and Uwasota
Road. Residential properties with the lowest rental values (Below N20,001) fall in category C and
are located on the least accessible roads (26.0). Roads in this category are Technical Road and
Egboni Street. Consequently this variation in rental value along with the accessibility of the roads in
Ugbowo is shown on a value map (Figure 9).
18. 17
Fig 9: Value Map Showing Spatial Variation in Rental Values with Accessibility in
Ugbowo
Source: Authors’ Analysis (2013)
19. 18
Table 3: Rental Value in relation to Accessibility of Individual Roads in GRA
Arterial Road
Weighted Accessibility
Mean Range CategoryIndex Mean
Oba Eweka Road 11.5
17.7
72.500
N50,001 &
Above A
Ikpokpan Road 27.1 72,500
Ihama Road 14.2 60,800
Reuben Street 29.6 56,500
Akhabore Street 5.9 55,800
Adesuwa Road 17.2
15.0
45,400
N40,001
–
N50,000
B
Oni Street 15.7 44,500
Aideyan Street 4.5 40,800
Etete Road 21.8 40,000
Giwa Amu Street 17.6
19.6
37,500
Below 40,001 C
Boundary Road 15.9 35,800
Idosogie Street 24.3 35,000
2nd Ugbor Road 20.2 34,200
Ogbeson Street 5.7 32,500
Oghosa Street 18.6 32,500
Gapiona Street 30.7 32,500
1st Ugbor Road 13.3 30,000
Guobadia Street 30.1 30,000
Source: Authors’ Analysis (2013)
Table 3 shows the rental values in relation to the weighted accessibility index of each road
in GRA. Three categories of residential properties can be identified based on range of mean rental
values in relation to accessibility. Category A which has residential properties of the highest rental
values (N50,001 & above), are located on moderately accessible roads (17.7). These arterial roads
are Oba Eweka Road, Ikpokpan Road, Ihama Road, Reuben Street and Akhabore Street. Category
B has residential properties of the next highest rental values (N40,001 – N50,000) but are located
on highly accessible roads (15.0). These roads are Adesuwa Road, Oni Street, Aideyan Street and
Etete Road. Residential properties with the lowest rental values (Below N40,001) fall in category C
and are located on the least accessible roads (19.6). These roads were Giwa Amu Road, Boundary
Road, Idosogie Road, 2nd Ugbor Road, Ogbeson Street, Gapiona Street, 1st Ugbor Road and
20. 19
Guobadia Street. Consequently this variation in rental value along with the accessibility of the roads
in GRA is shown on a value map (Figure 10).
Fig 10: Value Map Showing Spatial Variation in Rental Values with Accessibility in
GRA
Source: Authors’ Analysis (2013)
From the findings above, the study shows that rental values of residential properties vary
significantly with the level of accessibility of the roads. Generally, residential properties with
21. 20
higher rental values are located on more assessable roads while properties with the lowest rental
values are located on the least assessable roads. This confirms the fact that the higher the
accessibility of a road, the higher the values of rent, property and land that are located on it..
Therefore it is plausible to concede that the location and distribution of residential properties in
Benin City reflect the need to maximize accessibility to locations and productive resources within
the neighbourhoods or within the city. The more accessible these residential properties are to these
productive resources, the higher their rental value, all other things being equal.
CONCLUSION AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Having established the impact of accessibility on rental values of residential property, it is
worthy to note that a major problem faced by outlying neighbourhoods in Benin City is the poor
state of roads which has continued to impede accessibility. The construction and rehabilitation of
roads is mainly concentrated in the city center where the roads are generally in good conditions and
accessibility is already high. Neighbourhoods that are located further away from the city center are
impoverished by poor roads that make them poorly accessible. Therefore it is of great necessity that
government constructs, rehabilitate and adequately maintain roads in these neighbourhoods in order
to enhancing their accessibility and general usability. This is because improved road network not
only ease movement and circulation, but also offer better accessibility to productive resources and
locations within a neighbourhood and the city in general. However the study concludes that the
level of accessibility of individual roads in a neighbourhood will be higher only if the general state
of roads in the neighbourhoods is in a good condition. And since the state government’s Land Use
Charge is based on the value of the residential property, improving the state of roads would not only
beneficial to the government as it tax a higher amount on highly valued properties, but also the
owners who will ultimately shift the cost to their tenants through high rental payments. Rationally,
22. 21
high rental values for residential properties in a neighbourhood where the state of road is good, can
only be considered by the tenants as proper.
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