Geospatial Analysis of Urban Morphology and Real Estate Market in Minna, Nigeria

Abstract

This complexity and uncontrolled transformation of urban morphology is one of the major challenges of urban areas of the global south. There are many literatures on urban morphology, where few captured how urban form determines aspects of real estate market. This paper adopted Geographic Information System (GIS) in assessing the urban morphology and real estate market in Minna, Nigeria. All 21 professional Estate Surveyors and Valuers in the study area were sampled for rent data collection, while the urban form was assessed using satellite imageries. The data collected were analysed using descriptive analysis and spatial analysis. The relationship between the urban morphology and real estate market was analysed using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). The study reveals a clear spatial variation in the rental value of two-bedroom apartments across neighbourhoods, the values range from ₦250,000 to ₦200,000. The study also found that rental value variation among neighbourhoods in the study area is closely associated with differences in urban morphology, particularly density, land use mix, and accessibility. The GWR density beta spatial pattern shows a clear spatial variation in the influence of density on rental value across the neighbourhoods of the study area, with local coefficients ranging from -18,098.41 to 49,010.09. The strongest positive effects are concentrated in the central neighbourhoods, where the beta values fall within 26,077.50 to 49,010.09. The study concludes that the physical configuration of urban neighbourhoods is a significant determinant of rental values in Minna. It was recommended that neighbourhoods with relatively low rental values should be targeted for physical and environmental improvement.