Spatial Pattern of the Determinants for the Private Housing Rental Prices in Highly Dense Populated Chinese Cities—Case of Chongqing

The private housing rental market has rapidly developed and demonstrated its outstanding contribution to improving affordability for the floating population in China. However, the forming pattern of private housing rental prices (PHRP) remains poorly understood in China’s highly dense populated cities. This study aims to comprehensively investigate the determinants of PHRP and depict their spatial pattern, considering the diverse functions of different areas within the city. A theoretical framework of the factors that influence PHRP has been developed based on an extensive literate study. Taking Chongqing city as a case, a Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) analysis based on data from Lianjia.com and 58.com was conducted to investigate the spatial pattern of those influencing factors. The PHRP in Chongqing were mainly shaped by the factors of traffic condition and the neighborhood environment. The main findings highlighted that the influence of traffic condition on rental prices is more dominating in the industrial and financial zones, and the neighborhood factors represent spatial heterogeneity in the educational and commercial zones. This study provides a comprehensive examination of the spatial pattern of PHRP’s determinants in highly dense populated Chinese cities, extending the understanding of factors influencing housing rental prices. Practically, it provides scientific and reliable recommendations for the local governments and housing agencies in developing housing properties that consider the needs of the floating population. Moreover, tenants in highly dense populated cities benefit from suggestions about looking for proper accommodation with high value and accessibility in different functional zones of the city.