Note: Image-based Prediction of House Attributes with Deep Learning

Abstract

We present an image dataset and a deep learning model that enable the prediction of attributes such as floor area for low-rise buildings (i.e., houses). The dataset consists of 34,600 images of 16,403 buildings in the city of Toronto, Canada, each of which is associated with floor area. The ability to predict such an attribute can facilitate accurate, automated city-scale analysis of the built environment, which can then serve as a basis for policy evaluation and recommendation. A deep convolutional neural network is devised for the task, achieving normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) of 34.24% for interior floor area.