Housing and unemployment: The search for the “American Dream”

This paper constructs a model of search and bargaining across two different markets: the labor market and the housing market. Interestingly, the model highlights that housing prices and frictions in the housing market have a profound impact on labor market activity through the desire of workers to eventually purchase a home, the “American Dream.” In particular, higher housing prices adversely affect workers’ incentives in the labor market as employment can eventually lead to access to housing through the ability to purchase a home. Similarly, labor market frictions can impact housing market activity. Notably, tighter housing markets are associated with higher unemployment rates and less job creation. Consequently, our work suggests that policymakers should be very careful in implementing policies targeted towards housing – housing markets are likely to generate significant external effects to other sectors of the economy, especially the labor market.     

通胀预期对未来住房价格的影响——基于消费者信心指数的分析

以消费者信心指数作为通货膨胀预期指标,以中国1999—2010年住房市场月度数据为样本,实证检验通货膨胀预期对未来住房价格的影响。实证检验结果表明,通货膨胀预期会导致住房价格上涨,即生产者和消费者对通货膨胀预期将推动住房价格的不断上涨,因此,稳定通货膨胀预期对于稳定住房价格具有十分重要的作用。     

Clarification of misled statistic data: overestimated per-capita housing area

The per-capita urban housing area determines trends in the real estate market largely. These trends are important in formulating economic policies. The China Statistical Yearbook provides two groups of data for ‘per-capita urban housing.’ The demand–supply situation of the Chinese housing market must be analyzed and predicted by using different versions of data. This study uses data from Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People’s Republic of China, which comprise projected timing comparative data of the Chinese per-capita urban housing area, and predicts the future demand–supply situation of the Chinese housing market using the Gompertz model. The result shows that the per-capita urban housing area has declined since 2001, but the tight trend of the Chinese real estate market and the pressure of rising house prices will last for a relatively long time. The construction speed of commercial houses will only slow down if the urbanization proportion reaches 75%.     

Information and housing search: theory and evidence from China market

Asymmetric market information plays a role in households’ housing choice. To study this role, we theoretically and empirically examine the varied behaviours between better-informed and less-informed households in a housing market. The housing search model theoretically predicts that better-informed households are more likely to secure a better deal. With the data from Tianjin in China, hedonic models are calibrated to quantify the impacts of asymmetric information on housing search outcomes. The results show that the less-informed homebuyers need to pay around 1~2.3% more than those better-informed homebuyers after controlling the heterogeneity of housing units, which are consistent with the theoretical predictions. It suggests that policies and institutions to alleviate asymmetric information in housing market could improve the welfare of households.     

Tacit collusion in housing markets: the case of Santiago,Chile

In this article, using a detailed micro-database from Santiago, Chile, the potential existence of tacit collusion in housing markets is investigated. In order to perform the test, Santiago’s housing market is split into four different submarkets using hedonic price analysis and household’s socioeconomics characteristics. Then, using a GMM panel data model, regressions are run for each submarket, correlating industry’s markups with the aggregate level of activity. The main finding is that low and middle income submarkets present higher average markups and a pro-cyclical behaviour. This finding is consistent with a market where participants do not face capacity constraints and behave strategically to sustain tacit collusion during increasing demand periods.     

The Role of Chonsei as a Price Protector in the Korean Housing Market

In this study, we investigate whether ‘Chonsei,’ the distinctive type of housing contract system in Korea, has a favorable impact on house prices during a market downturn. We show the mechanism in which Chonsei prevents a sharp drop in house prices based on sellers’ loss aversion behavior. Moreover, using data on the Seoul condominium (i.e. apartment) market during the 2006–2017 period, we find that Chonsei prices have a negative impact on the housing trade volume in a market recession. This finding is consistent with our argument that loss aversion behavior appears with regard to the rise in Chonsei prices and thereby Chonsei functions as a price protector in the Korean housing market.     

信贷约束对住宅市场的影响效应——基于动态面板模型的研究

本文通过构建消费者—开发商两部门的房地产市场局部均衡模型,研究信贷约束对住宅市场的影响效应。本文利用1999～2009年中国35个大中城市的面板数据,采用动态面板GMM估计方法考察银行信贷对住宅消费和住宅价格的影响。实证结果显示:银行信贷对房地产价格产生显著的正向影响,表明信贷约束是当前房价增幅下降的重要因素之一;个人住房贷款和房地产开发贷款对房价的正向影响效应存在差异,前者的作用小于后者;个人住房贷款对居民住宅消费产生显著的正向影响,是影响居民住宅消费的最重要因素。     

Behavioral heterogeneity in the Australian housing market

We propose a heterogeneous agent model (HAM) of four groups of investors with Markov chain regime-dependent beliefs for the housing market. Within the Markov switching framework, we take into account how heterogeneous investors shift their trading behaviour in response to changes in housing market conditions. The model is estimated and compared with the benchmark rational expectation models using the Australian housing market data from 1982Q1 to 2013Q2. We find evidence of within- and between-group heterogeneity in the Australian housing market. We show that HAM with Markov switching beliefs provides a better in-sample estimation efficiency and outperforms the conventional rational expectation models in terms of out-of-sample prediction.     

The housing market and excess monetary liquidity in China

This study investigated the performance of the housing market in China, determining that from a long-term perspective, an equilibrium relationship exists between housing prices and output. However, the housing market may not be efficient in the short run. Based on the correlation between housing returns and the economic growth rate, 3 distinct states can be discerned in the performance of the Chinese housing market. The first state is a bubble period, during which housing returns are excessively high and negatively correlated with the economic growth rate; the second state is a correction period, during which housing prices are corrected toward market fundamentals; and the third state is a calm market period, during which no substantial performance or trends manifest. This study determined that excess monetary liquidity significantly influenced the housing market states; however, no such effect was observed when the interest rate was adjusted. Thus, the findings implicate that if the People’s Bank of China intends to avoid losing control of the housing market, it should exercise monetary control to avoid excess liquidity in the housing market.     

The impact of housing market disturbances on the US financial system: a pre-crisis analysis

A common critique of the Federal Reserve over the past crisis is that it should have better anticipated the impact of the run-up in home mortgage debt and the subsequent housing market crash on the financial system. As a result, the Federal Reserve should have moved much more quickly to shore up financial markets. Our article tests the hypothesis that the impact of the housing market crash on the financial system could have been anticipated. Using a VAR model along with impulse response functions and variance decompositions, we examine the link between housing market mortgage debt shocks and the financial intermediaries’ credit market behaviour. We find important connections between key macroeconomic variables and the credit behaviour of these financial institutions. However, using the pre-crisis data, we find that housing market debt shocks fail to have an impact on the credit markets accessed by these firms. These results support the notion that the impact of this crisis on the financial system could not have been anticipated given the information available at the time.     

Housing cycles and efficiency

This paper has four objectives. First, a small model of the UK housing market is constructed, including equations for house prices, housing starts, construction costs and interest rates. The model is used in an analysis of housing market cycles, employing techniques developed for the analysis of general business cycles. Second, the model is used to consider housing market efficiency. Third, the model is extended to examine the relationship between house prices and property transactions. Finally, the role of monetary policy in the generation of housing cycles and stability is discussed.     

The determinants of housing maintenance and upkeep: a case study of Providence,Rhode Island

Housing maintenance and upkeep poses a concern to the health and well-being of the urban environment. While the number of ‘substandard’ residences continues to grow, especially in the older North-eastern and Midwestern industrial centres, an awareness and understanding fo residential maintenance and upkeep, its causes, and its impact on the economic and social well-being of the urban area remain vague and inconclusive. Several theories of housing maintences have been developed with each attributing maintenance and unkeep decisions to a variety of institutions and individuals; the market, ‘failure’ of the market, profit-seeking bebaviour of the landlord, and public policies. Each theory emphasizes only one or maybe two of these institutions in providing an explanations of maintenance and upkeep often using cross-sectional data to test their hypotheis. This study, using a combination of cross-sectional and to upkeep as a dynamic phenomenon, part of a complex process of housing quality change. For this reason the use of a Markov Chain model in which housing structures are classified by number and degree of code violations as belonging to two ‘states’ –standard and substandard –is used in combination with a data base composed of annual observations over a ten-year study period. Two models (linear probability and dichotomous logit) will be used to calculate the transition probabilities of the Markov Chain model. This method allows the researcher to observe the historical development of a housing structure as it moves from one conditional state to another as being dependent upon several independent variables. Since some of these factors can be directly altered of indirectly influenced by public policy, the analysis may suggest various ways for policy-makers to influence maintenance and upkeep decisions and improve the distribution of housing across various quality states.     

异质性预期、投资者行为与房价波动：上海和广州的双城记?

房地产市场中存在大量的投资者,其市场行为会使房价出现大幅的波动,从而引起市场不稳定。文章在引入投资者异质性预期假设的基础上,构建了包含房地产消费者、投资者、供给者在内的房地产市场均衡模型,分析了房地产市场中基本面型投资者和趋势型投资者的异质性行为对房价变动的影响,并利用上海和广州两个一线城市的实际数据进行了对比分析。研究结果表明：在房地产市场中,两类投资者对于未来房价不同的预期以及投资行为会引起房价的变动;上海投资者的行为整体上会使上海的房价始终处于不断上涨的趋势中,而广州投资者的行为会随着投资策略的转变而使静态下的“整体上推动房价趋势型变化”转变为“整体上将房价‘拉回’基本面价格”;房地产市场中的投资者占比会显著影响房价的变动趋势,当基本面型投资者占比上升时,房价偏离度和房价变动率降低,而当这类投资者占比达到峰值时,房价会出现拐点;投资者之间的策略转换速度也会通过引起基本面型投资者占比的变化,引起房价的频繁波动,而且策略转换速度越快,房价波动越频繁。     

A robust textual analysis of the dynamics of Hong Kong property market

Market sentiments influence the dynamics of Hong Kong’s macro-critical property market, but the unobservable nature of market sentiments makes it difficult to systemically assess this sentiment channel. Using text mining techniques, this paper sets up a news-based property market sentiment index and a Google Trends-based buyer incentive index for Hong Kong and studies the sentiment channel of transmission in the Hong Kong property market. The news-based property market sentiment index can reflect the change in sentiments in past key events, with the sentiments in the primary market tending to lead that of the secondary market during the low housing supply period. For the Google Buyer Incentive Index, we find that it has value-added in forecasting (or nowcasting) the official property price index. In mapping out the sentiment channel using a structural vector-autoregressive model, we find that an improvement in market sentiments could stimulate buyers’ incentives, which then together would affect property prices and transaction volumes.     

Bernanke versus Taylor: a post mortem

Our analysis sheds light on the issue of whether the monetary policy contributed to the recent housing boom and bust. We have estimated and analysed a model that allows a comparison between the actual policy and several alternative Taylor rules. When the Taylor rule path was computed using revised data and the deflator for the GDP, we found a notable impact on key housing market variables, supporting Taylor’s critique of the Fed policy. However, the bulk of our evidence suggests that the policy as it would have been conducted under our real-time Taylor rules would not have had any significant impact on the housing market variables. This conclusion is robust with regard to the price index used as well as the relative weights used on the inflation and output gaps.     

农民工住房政策与经济增长

中国城市住房市场中存在明显的分割,"城中村"等居住环境恶劣的"非正式"住房容纳了大量农民工。通过构建一个农民工住房与经济增长的理论模型,本文发现,针对农民工的单纯住房数量的供给在低端产业占主导时对经济增长的推动作用明显,但在高技能产业比重逐渐增加时其效果逐渐衰减。相反地,改善农民工居住环境的政策能够使住房供给对经济增长的推动力具有可持续性。同时,这类改良政策能够减少潜在的社会冲突所导致的社会资源非生产性损耗,使得分给城市原有居民的"蛋糕"份额也会变大,因此有希望成为一个可以自发实现的内生政策变迁过程,既有利于促进经济增长,又有利于实现城乡融合和社会和谐。     

Impact of government intervention in the housing market: evidence from the housing purchase restriction policy in China

In 2010, a housing purchase restriction policy was announced by China’s central government and implemented gradually by several prefecture governments. In this article, we empirically investigate this policy’s effect on the housing market. Using a difference-in-difference framework, we show that the housing purchase restriction policy reduces housing prices and transaction amounts but does not influence the housing investment or construction markets. Moreover, upstream industry suffers more than downstream industry. The results are robust to a battery of robustness checks. Heterogeneity exists across cities. We find that first- and second-tier cities as well as highly urbanized cities experience great declines in housing prices after the policy’s implementation, especially cites that had high housing prices in 2010 and cities with high real estate investment as a proportion of fixed asset investment. However, the housing policy is less effective in curbing speculative demand.     

Housing booms and media coverage

This article analyses news media coverage of the housing market. Building on theories of media influence where word of mouth is the final mechanism of opinion change but media initiate discourse, I examine the relationship between news media and the recent UK house price boom. Over 30 000 articles on the UK housing market from the period 1993 to 2008 are analysed, and it is found that media Granger-caused real house price changes, suggesting the media may have influenced opinions on the housing market. However, media sentiment on the housing market did not change with the secular increase in house prices in the 2000s, suggesting that the media did not contribute to the UK’s housing boom and may have helped constrain it.     

Labor-Leisure Choice and Relative Income Concerns in the Shadow of the Housing Market

We theoretically examine the connection among labor productivity, work time, and housing costs in an economy with households differing in wages and neighborhoods differing in quality. We argue that the location rent component of housing cost is key to explicating the connection. We trace how the housing market makes relative income instrumental for maximizing utility even if households’ utility functions are not interdependent. Over time, productivity growth yields higher wages but households compete some of that away on the housing market. This structural inflation of location rents counteracts preferences to work less as wages rise and hinders the expansion of leisure. Relative income effects are shown to arise as a consequence of a market institution that monetizes socially-imbued preferences.     

城市住宅特征价格分析:对杭州市的实证研究

由于住宅产品的异质性,国外学者广泛使用特征价格模型分析城市住宅市场。特征价格模型的理论基础主要由Lancaster偏好理论和Rosen的产品特征市场供需均衡模型两部分组成。在访谈的基础上,选择了18个住宅特征作为模型的自变量,基于线性函数形式构建了杭州市住宅特征价格模型。采用杭州市2 473个住宅样本数据和290个住宅小区的实地调查资料对模型进行了估计,发现就整个住宅市场而言,14个住宅特征对住宅价格具有显著影响,并且影响程度有差异。同时,根据特征价格对14个住宅特征的影响程度进行了排序,并分为四类。