Kathleen Kürschner Rauck

Kathleen Kürschner Rauck is Assistant Professor of Real Estate Finance at the University of St.Gallen. In 2021, Professor Kürschner Rauck received the Otto von Guerike University Dissertation Award for her doctoral thesis.

Expertise

Professor Kürschner Rauck is studying how driving restrictions on private vehicles affect residential real estate prices. Using a combination of German data on rail station locations, motorway access points, and geo-referenced houses, she exposes several salient features. First, properties that are located within walking distance of rail stations situated within a 30-minute ride from Berlin's main rail station enjoy a sizeable price growth premium. Second, properties located in the immediate vicinity of rail stations that require a downtown commute of more than 30 minutes face a severe penalty. Further analysis suggests that many parameters are at play, including substitution effects between car and train transit, noise pollution, and train frequency, as well as ticket prices. These results provide relevant learnings for policy makers seeking to change the demand for more environmentally sustainable modes of transport.