The Uneven Effect of Airbnb on the Housing Market: Evidence Across and Within Italian Cities

Abstract

We investigate if Airbnb diffusion affects residential property values differently across and within cities leveraging the heterogeneity of five Italian cities in terms of tourist attractiveness, local housing markets, and socioeconomic conditions. We find that Airbnb density growth leads to increases in house prices in all cities. Within-city, the impact is positive both in centers and in the suburbs in more touristic towns, but only in the center in the others. Moreover, Airbnb may increase or decrease the center–periphery price gap. Our results suggest that the different impact of Airbnb on housing submarkets is driven by local disparity conditions.