Identifying Spatial Heterogeneity in the Effects of High-Tech Firm Density on Housing Prices: Evidence from Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China

Innovation capitalization is a new concept in innovation geography research. Extant research on a city scale has proven that innovation is an important factor affecting housing prices and verified that innovation has a capitalization effect. However, few studies investigate the spatial heterogeneity of innovation capitalization. Thus, case verification at the urban agglomeration scale is needed. Therefore, this study proposes a theoretical framework for the spatial heterogeneity of innovation capitalization at the urban agglomeration scale. Examining the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GHMGBA), China as a case study, the study investigated the spatial heterogeneity of the influence of high-tech firms, representing innovation, on housing prices. This work verified the spatial heterogeneity of innovation capitalization. The study constructed a data set influencing housing prices, comprising 11 factors in 5 categories (high-tech firms, convenience of living facilities, built environment, the natural environment, and the fundamentals of the districts) for 419 subdistricts in the GHMGBA. On the global scale, the study finds that high-tech firms have a significant and positive influence on housing prices, with the housing price increasing by 0.0156% when high-tech firm density increases by 1%. Furthermore, a semi-geographically weighted regression (SGWR) analysis shows that the influence of high-tech firms on housing prices has spatial heterogeneity. The areas where high-tech firms have a significant and positive influence on housing prices are mainly in the Guangzhou-Foshan metropolitan area, western Shenzhen-Dongguan, north-central Zhongshan-Nansha district, and Guangzhou—all areas with densely distributed high-tech firms. These results confirm the spatial heterogeneity of innovation capitalization and the need for further discussion of its scale and spatial limitations. The study offers implications for relevant GHMGBA administrative authorities for spatially differentiated development strategies and housing policies that consider the role of innovation in successful urban development.