The Impact of Municipal Taxes on Housing Supply in Tabriz Ten Metropolitan Districts

Introduction: The housing sector, as a major component of the economy and a key factor in supporting economic development, has significant importance. Currently, urban management in most Iranian cities has become dependent on the most unstable source of revenue—construction fees—to meet its financial needs. Housing-related charges, especially in the past decade and in the country’s major cities, are regarded as an influential factor affecting both the price and supply of housing. In recent years, due to the rapid expansion of Tabriz city, Tabriz Municipality divided the city into ten independent districts to provide proper urban services to citizens. These ten districts of the Tabriz metropolis possess diverse features and capacities in terms of area, population, urban fabric, and other aspects, which significantly influence the housing supply within each district. Therefore, the main challenge concerning the varying housing supply across Tabriz’s ten districts lies in examining the factors that affect housing supply. This study examines the factors influencing housing supply by the ten districts of Tabriz metropolis, with an emphasis on municipal charges related to housing. Ultimately, it evaluates a model based on the factors affecting how municipal fees impact the housing supply
Methodology: This research investigates the factors influencing housing supply in the ten districts of Tabriz Metropolis, with an emphasis on housing-related municipal fees. In this regard, the study intends to answer three main questions:

Can a model be extracted that significantly describes the factors influencing housing supply in the ten districts of Tabriz Metropolis?
Which factors have the greatest impact on housing supply?
What is the effect of improper housing supply on housing prices?"
Results: The present study is applied in terms of its objective and mixed-methods in terms of its analytical approach. The mixed-methods approach is a logical and powerful framework that utilizes the strengths of both qualitative (Grounded Theory) and quantitative (Structural Equation Modeling) methods. The main reason for using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) after Grounded Theory (GT) is to statistically validate and generalize the model derived from the qualitative data.To achieve the research objective, adopting the Grounded Theory approach, a model was developed based on the factors affecting housing supply. The developed model includes the core category, causal conditions, intervening conditions, contextual conditions, strategies, and consequences. Finally, the constructed model was tested using Structural Equation Modeling.The statistical population under review includes experts in Tabriz urban management. Given the limited size of the population, an attempt was made to include all individuals as the sample, totaling 156 people, surveyed during the period from Dey 1401 to Tir 1402 (approximately January 2023 to June 2023). The distributed questionnaire comprised 68 questions based on the categories validated and extracted in the qualitative phase, using a Likert scale. The SmartPLS software was used to evaluate the data obtained from the questionnaire.
Discussion: The questionnaire was designed with 68 questions in the form of a Likert scale, whose items comprised categories mentioned in Table 1. After ensuring the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, the questionnaire was distributed among the samples, and after collection, the data were entered into SmartPLS software for evaluation.To examine the extent to which each of the research constructs aligns with the indicators used to measure them, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was employed.
Conclusion: This research indicates that the fluctuations in the Tabriz housing market are caused by a causal chain (identified via GT) in which managerial factors and municipal fees undermine supply, and this weakened supply is the primary force behind price increases. The core issue is the construction flow, not just pricing. Policies based solely on price control, without resolving the supply barriers (identified by GT), are destined to fail.The results provide a complex theoretical model for urban management rooted in local qualitative data. Its recommendations necessitate structural changes in how fees are collected and how the permit issuance process is managed at the level of each district in Tabriz. The key operational policy is that price management must be achieved through improving supply (such as system integration, reducing unnecessary stringent regulations, etc.), and planning must be regional and non-uniform to account for the inherent differences across the ten districts. The crucial point highlighted in the conclusion is that a uniform policy is inefficient due to the intrinsic differences in housing characteristics across the ten districts, meaning success demands adopting tailored regional approaches for each area.In the current study, a questionnaire was used to measure the variables.