Associate Professor William Cheung
Dr William K.S. Cheung is an Associate Professor in Property at the University of Auckland Business School, specialising in urban analytics, property markets, and housing policy.
His research is transdisciplinary, spanning property economics, tourism, urban studies, and the built environment. His work is internationally focused, with empirical data from multiple regions and intensive collaborations with global researchers. His approach is largely quantitative, leveraging big data, econometric modelling, and spatial analytics to examine housing market dynamics, tourism impacts, and policy interventions. He applies theoretical analysis and mathematical modelling to test hypotheses and generate evidence-based insights that inform institutional policy and practice.
Dr Cheung holds a PhD from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and has received multiple international research awards, including the Fulbright-Lee Hysan Hong Kong Research Scholar Award and the Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship. His expertise in real estate economics and tourism-induced housing market changes has positioned him as a leading researcher in short-term accommodation impacts, green infrastructure accessibility, and AI governance in property markets. His work is widely published in top-tier journals such as Urban Studies, Tourism Management, and the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.
Before academia, Dr Cheung worked as an economist for the Hong Kong Government and as an assistant manager in the Asia-Pacific Research Department at CBRE, gaining extensive industry experience in market analytics and policy advisory. He is a chartered surveyor (MRICS) and a full member of the Property Institute of New Zealand (MPINZ).
Dr Cheung actively contributes to international research collaborations, including projects funded by MBIE, the National Science Challenges (BBHTC), and Horizon Europe. His leadership in applied research and policy translation has been recognised through awards such as the University of Auckland Early Career Researcher Excellence Award and the Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Early Career Achievement Award.
Select publications
- Cheung, K. S., & Li, L. H. (2019). Understanding visitor–resident relations in overtourism: developing resilience for sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(8), 1197–1216. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1606815
- Cheung, K.S. (2024). Airbnb pricing and term structure: A temporal analysis of omitted variable bias and repeat sales method as remedies. Tourism Economics, 30(5), 1330-1338 https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816623119155
- Cheung, K. S., & Yiu, C. Y. (2022). Touristification, Airbnb and the tourism-led rent gap: Evidence from a revealed preference approach. Tourism Management, 92, 104567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2022.104567
- Cheung, KS, & Yiu, CY (2023). Unfolding touristification in retail landscapes: Evidence from rent gaps on high street retail. Tourism Geographies, 25(4), 1224-1250 https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2022.2150299
- Cheung, K. S., Yiu, C. Y., & Xiong, C. (2021). Housing Market in the Time of Pandemic: A Price Gradient Analysis from the COVID-19 Epicentre in China. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 14(3), 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14030108
- Cheung, K. S., Monkkonen, P., & Yiu, C. Y. (2024). The heterogeneous impacts of widespread upzoning: Lessons from Auckland, New Zealand. Urban Studies, 61(5), 943-967. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980231190281
- Cheung, K. S., & Yiu, C. Y. (2022). The economics of architectural aesthetics: Identifying price effect of urban ambiences by different house cohorts. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 23998083211064625. https://doi.org/10.1177/23998083211064625
- Cheung, K.S. (2024), “Real Estate Insights Unleashing the potential of ChatGPT in property valuation reports: the “Red Book” compliance Chain-of-thought (CoT) prompt engineering”, Journal of Property Investment & Finance, Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 200-206. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPIF-06-2023-0053
Select Awards
- New Zealand National Business Research Translation Competition, Runner-up (2021)
- University of Auckland Early Career Researcher Excellence Award (2022)
- Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship (2017-2018)
- Fulbright-Lee Hysan Hong Kong Research Scholar Award (2016-2017)
Further links
For more information about Dr. Cheung’s work, please visit his University of Auckland profile. You can also read his articles on Newsroom and connect with him on LinkedIn. His publications are available on Google Scholar.
University of Auckland Feature Interview: Dr. William Cheung’s feature interview at the University of Auckland Business School. Link: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/business/about-business-school/property/research/housing-markets-urban-change/dr-william-cheung.html
Newsroom Author Page: This page features articles and opinion pieces authored by Dr. William Cheung, covering topics related to property markets, urban development, and housing policies. Link: https://newsroom.co.nz/author/william-cheung/
Google Scholar Profile: This profile lists Dr. William Cheung’s scholarly publications, citations, and h-index, reflecting his contributions to academic research in his fields of expertise. Link: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9GCmzvEAAAAJ&hl=en