VARIATIONS IN HOUSING PRICE DEPRECIATION - THE TASTE FOR NEWNESS ACROSS HETEROGENEOUS SUBMARKETS

Rubin's finding that a ''taste for newness'' is reflected in hedonic h ousing prices and that older units most affordably provide a fixed pac kage of basic housing amenities is not universally true. Most metropol itan housing markets are heterogeneous, with different rent/age relati onships among submarkets, and in most submarkets the relationship is n onlinear. In certain submarkets, older vintages may command a value pr emium.