Impacts of new light rail investment on accessibility and housing markets: A difference-in-differences hedonic analysis in Amsterdam

In 2018, Amsterdam introduced the North-South Line (NZL), a metro connecting the city’s north and south via its historic centre. Using a spatially adjusted difference-in-differences approach, combined with hedonic modelling for the relevant submarkets, this study estimates the effects of accessibility improvements, measured as the change in the number of jobs reachable within a 30-minute trip, on housing prices, rents, social housing queues and housing density. Unlike most studies in this literature, which focus exclusively on transaction prices, we examine this broader set of outcomes, an approach of particular relevance in Amsterdam, where owner-occupied housing represents only around 30% of the total stock. We find modest housing market responses to the NZL around specific stations. Effects are strongest where accessibility improvements were most pronounced, but often small or statistically insignificant. While house prices show small capitalisation effects in some locations, private rents, social housing and housing density exhibit weak or largely insignificant changes.