THE HOUSING MARKET IN 1993

What hope is there of a recovery in the housing market in the rest of 1993? Jonathan Morris, of economic consultant Lombard Street Research, analyses the influences that will affect the housing market.     

DEMAND,CUSTOMER BASE‐LINE AND DEMAND RESPONSE IN THE ELECTRICITY MARKET: A SURVEY

The increasing use of demand‐side management, as a tool to reliably meet electricity demands at peak time, has stimulated interest among researchers, consumers and producer organiza‐tions, managers, regulators and policymakers. This research reviews the growing literature on models which are used to study demand, customer base‐line (CBL) and demand response in the electricity market. After characterizing the general demand models, the CBL, based on which the demand response models are studied, is reviewed. Given the experience gained from the review and existing conditions, the study combines an appropriate model for each case for a possible application to the electricity market; moreover, it discusses the implications of the results. In the literature, these aspects are studied independently. The main contribution of this survey is attributed to the treatment of the three issues as sequentially interdependent. The review is expected to enhance the understanding of the demand, CBL and demand response in the electricity market and their relationships. The objective is conducted through a combination of demand and supply side managements in order to reduce demand through different demand response programs during peak times. This enables electricity suppliers to save costly electricity generation and at the same time reduce energy vulnerability.     

THE DESIGN OF DIRECT DEMAND SUBSIDY PROGRAMS FOR HOUSING IN LATIN AMERICA

Traditional Latin American housing programs, which have used below-market interest rates to convey subsidies, have suffered from serious vices: high per-unit cost and subsidies, low population coverage, lack of transparency, benefits to the middle-class rather than the poor, and inefficiency. Chile broke out of this flawed traditional mode by launching a housing program that conveys subsidies directly to households in die form of a one-time, non-reimbursable grant This approach has spread to other Latin American countries, increasingly with the support of donors. The paper describes and then analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of direct subsidy programs in Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Uruguay to distill ten design lessons: target to low-income households and ensure political autonomy; replace below-market interest rates with direct demand subsidies; use group mechanisms for low-income households; stimulate supply, not just demand; adjust key amounts for inflation; balance progressivity and financial feasibility; join die efforts of various levels of government; use NGOs; establish mechanisms for on-going consolidation of housing solutions; and include measures to promote broader housing sector reform. The conclusion applies these lessons to the design of a housing pilot project in Venezuela.     

THE HOUSING MARKET AND THE RECOVERY

In the run up to the key Christmas period the talk is again of renewed weakness in consumer spending. Last month saw the volume of retail sales rise by only 0.1 per cent, and the annual rate of growth has now slowed to a shade over 3 per cent, down from its peak of 4.4 per cent back in July this summer. This weakness in consumer demand is also clearly being reflected in retail prices; with retailers discounting their prices to boost sales, headline inflation fell to 1.4per cent in October, while the underlying rate dropped to its lowest level for 25 years. This forecast release looks at the wider determinants of consumer spending, especially developments in the housing market. We argue that the slowdown in high street sales is a forbear of sluggish growth to come and that lower interest rates, if they materialise, are unlikely to have much of an impact. While consumer spending has been the driving force out of recession, for the recovery to be sustained, requires that exports and investment spending now take up the running.     

A REVIEW OF THE KOREAN HOUSING MARKET AND RELATED POLICIES

Essentially an update of Renaud (1989). K.Y. Kim (1991), and K.H. Kim (1993), this paper introduces the Korean housing market and policies, but from a distinct perspective. Housing conditions in Korea have dramatically improved both in terms of quantity and quality over the past 35 years. The market has mainly accommodated buyers of new houses, while ignoring or even sacrificing needs of low income households. This is the result of government control of the market mostly by regulations on new for-sale houses rather than by budgetary or financial resources. Both the weakness and strength of this housing supply system were clearly revealed by the price hikes in the late 1980s and by the mass production of houses, which finally stabilized the market As for major current policy problems, the suggestions put forth in this paper emphasize fewer regulations and more involvement of the private sector.     

寻找市场需求的“处女地”——民营企业的多元化战略浅析

民营企业初创时规模都不大,在经营上既无经验,又无优势,一切从零开始,即使在特定产品线或市场上深入开拓和经营也不可能.所以它们在经营上普遍侧重于"短、平、快"项目.     

MARKET INDUCED AND GOVERNMENT MANDATED ENERGY CONSERVATION IN THE HOUSING MARKET: Econometric Evidence from the U.S.

This paper integrates and compares me results of two large-scale econometric analyses of the effects of residential energy prices upon the U.S. housing market. A simple model of energy consumption in the housing market is developed, and the results of these studies are compared with the common model. The two studies, using very different bodies of data and very different econometric techniques, yield very similar implications in terms of household expenditures and patterns of consumption. In particular, both studies confirm the importance of "natural conservation" in the housing market. Higher energy prices lead to substantially lower consumption of residential energy, even in the absence of regulation. In particular, it is estimated that a doubling of energy prices leads to a reduction of residential energy consumption of about twenty-five percent.     

SEARCH AND VACANCY COSTS IN THE TOKYO HOUSING MARKET: ATTEMPT TO MEASURE SOCIAL COSTS OF IMPERFECT INFORMATION

The social cost of imperfect information, in terms of buyers' search costs and sellers' opportunity costs of vacancy, is estimated in the real estate market of resale condominiums in central Tokyo by using a new, comprehensive dataset of resale condominium transactions. The results suggest a substantial social cost. Specifically, if housing information were perfectly available and marketing time were null, sellers would get benefits of 22.59% of imputed net rents of their property. In addition, buyers would save 1,042,000 yen spent on search activities for one transaction, if information were perfect. This is equivalent to 13.2% of buyers' average annual income.     

NO CHOICE: REFORMING SOCIAL HOUSING IN ENGLAND

This paper considers the current and future prospects for social housing. It looks at the key issues of choice and affordability that dominate housing policy, how this links social housing to the dominant tenure of owner-occupation and how government has sought to control social housing allowing for a managed decline of the sector. The final part of the paper proposes some reforms which will introduce real choice into rented housing and empower low-income households. This, however, will necessitate the end of social housing as a distinct tenure.     

THE INFLUENCE OF THE GREAT HANSHIN-AWAJI EARTHQUAKE ON THE LOCAL HOUSING MARKET

The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake destroyed a huge number of houses and caused housing problems in the disaster area. This paper investigates the influence of the earthquake on the related housing market, mainly in terms of changes in house prices and housing rents, and analyzes the machanism of the changes. Empirical results by Hedonic analyses indicate the influences are different between house prices and housing rents and also between the disaster district and the surrounding area. Those differences are explained by the factors of the earthquake that would affect the housing market, such as decrease in income, diversity of damage among the districts and others.     

MODELS OF SELF-EMPLOYMENT IN A COMPETITIVE MARKET

Abstract. A survey is given of models in the literature that can be used to explain the number of self-employed individuals in the framework of a competitive market. Apart from giving a survey, this paper also intends to explain how the various models work. Thus, the connections between the various models can be shown.     

新城市地产参展广州房博会

9月18—20日,2009年广州房地产交易博览会暨城市规划建设及住房安居展在琶洲会展中心举行。广州新城市地产、保利、富力、雅居乐等数十家有实力的本地开发商参展,成为最多房地产企业参展的房博会。     

COMPETITION AND SOCIAL HOUSING IN EUROPE

This article discusses the application of the concept of competition to social housing in Europe. A distinction is made between competition amongst social housing suppliers and between social housing organisations and commercial suppliers of housing. The competitiveness of social housing is examined using evidence mainly from England and the Netherlands.     

TRUST AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN A LIBERAL MARKET

Although apparently anti-competitive, the organised professions are deemed to be in the public interest because they ensure a supply of expertise within an ethical framework. Since they rely on the concept of a fiduciary relationship between the professional and the client, any failure of trust can undermine the structure. The paper explores the basis for trust, why trust may have failed, and how it might be restored.