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With China’s rapid urbanization, innovation capacity and housing affordability have become important factors affecting sustainable development. This paper aims to address this research gap by examining the spatial characteristics and correlation between the housing market and urban innovation capacity. With statistical analyses of the housing market and innovation indicators in China’s major cities, there are following findings. Firstly, it is found that there are obvious spatial characteristics between urban innovation ability and housing affordability. Housing supply has a significantly positive effect on urban innovation, particularly in central regions. Similarly, housing demand also positively impacts urban innovation. The impact of the housing supply-demand ratio on urban innovation exhibits regional variation. Secondly, the impact of housing affordability on urban innovation levels exhibits a nuanced pattern, resembling an inverted “U” shape, particularly pronounced in the eastern region. When the housing price-to-income ratio remains below a critical threshold, its growth positively contributes to enhancing urban innovation levels. Thirdly, an increase in the housing supply-demand ratio adversely affects urban innovation levels through a mediated pathway. The housing supply-demand ratio serves as a vital metric indicating the housing market’s stability.
Zhang et al. (2026) studied this question.