Job creation and housing construction: Constraints on metropolitan area employment growth

Differences in the supply of housing generate substantial variation in house prices across the United States. Because house prices influence migration, the elasticity of housing supply also has an important impact on local labor markets. I assemble evidence on housing supply regulations and examine their effect on metropolitan area housing and labor market dynamics. Locations with relatively few barriers to construction experience more residential construction and smaller increases in house prices in response to an increase in housing demand. Furthermore, housing supply constraints alter local employment and wage dynamics in locations where the degree of regulation is most severe.     

Does land use planning shape regional economies? A simultaneous analysis of housing supply,internal migration and local employment growth in the Netherlands

Why has job growth over the past decades been weaker in the Dutch Randstad area than in surrounding regions? In a simultaneous equations analysis, we find that employment has adjusted to the regional supply of labour. Net internal migration was predominantly determined by regional housing supply, and not by employment growth. Growth of the regional housing stock appeared insensitive to changes in the number of people and jobs. This lack of responsiveness to demand conditions is consistent with the presence of strong restrictions on residential development near the main Dutch cities, suggesting that the current regional distribution of economic activity in the Netherlands reflects land use planning decisions.     

House price convergence in euro zone and non-euro zone countries

This study investigates whether single currency use increased house price convergence among various countries. First, the panel unit root test results indicate that the house prices in euro zone countries were more correlated than the house prices in non-euro zone countries. Second, the house prices in various European countries converged towards the house prices in Germany, which uses the single currency, rather than towards those in the United Kingdom, indicating that single currency use increased the influence of the German housing market on other markets. Finally, the log t regression model, a new convergence test, was employed and determined that the house prices in various European countries were not converging before 1992 but began to do so after that year. After the euro was implemented as an official currency, the house prices in various countries converged towards a consistent level. On the basis of the relative transition paths, this study determines that the differences among housing markets in various countries have continuously decreased since 1992. The empirical results indicate that the law of one price is applicable to tradable goods and that single currency use can integrate housing markets, which include non-tradable goods.     

THE DYNAMICS OF UK NATIONAL AND REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES

In this paper, the Johansen cointegration technique is applied to modeling the dynamics of national and regional house prices. It is concluded that household income, real mortgage rate and housing completions are significant factors influencing house price changes at the national level. The underlying structure of the national market is investigated, showing that while price trends in some regions of the UK are strongly related by causal processes, others are relatively independent     

房产税对房产市场影响的实证研究——上海模式和重庆模式的比较

文章首先运用HP滤波的方式分析了沪渝两地房产税对新房和二手房在价格和成交量上的影响,发现上海房地产市场对房产税的的征收反应更为理性,影响效果更好,但两地区新房和二手房市场的反映都存在差异;此外,利用房价对数模型,发现房产税都能有效的影响两地的房价,但由于影响两地房价的因素有很大的差异,效率并不一样,上海地区房产税每增加1%,房价将下降0.553%,重庆地区房产税每增加1%,房价将下降0.041%。因此国家需区别对待新房和二手房市场,并且因地制宜,推广不同的房产税模式。     

Wage equations,wage curves and all that

This paper is concerned with the relationship between wages and unemployment. Using UK regions and individuals as the basis for our analysis, the following questions are investigated. First, is the wage equation a relationship between unemployment and wages or wage changes? Second, can we identify the relationship completely by looking at regional wages and regional unemployment or do regional wages depend on aggregate unemployment as well? Third, can we identify an upward sloping cross-section relationship between wages and unemployment corresponding to a zero migration condition? Finally, are wages influenced only by the current state of the labour market or do contracts lead to wages depending on labour market conditions in the last boom or upon entry into the job?     

Linear and nonlinear dynamic relationships between housing prices and trading volumes

This study applied linear and nonlinear causality tests and estimation models to investigate the efficiency of housing prices and volumes in the United States and its four major regions. The results of this study confirm that housing volumes can function as a price-discovery indicator. According to the nonlinear volatility of housing prices, this study verified numerous hypotheses. Housing returns can also influence housing volume. The results of this study imply that housing price efficiency can vary based on market conditions. Consequently, estimating the behavior of housing prices through a linear model can result in underestimating the information reflected by housing returns.     

Determinants of house prices in Istanbul: a quantile regression approach

This paper uses quantile regression methods where a hedonic equation is estimated for each quantile of the conditional distribution of housing prices. The survey data are used to investigate the relationship between house prices and housing characteristics in Istanbul. This data set includes some housing characteristics of the dwellings like numbers of room, bathroom, heating system, location of house etc. In the results of this paper show some similarities and differences from earlier studies on housing prices. We find that age, cable tv, security, heating system, garage, kitchen area, increasing numbers of room and bathroom increase the house prices. Our findings also show that side variable which is a special factor for Istanbul real estate market has negative effect on the prices. It is clear that the factors of housing prices can change because of the properties of country, region or city. The results of this study may give some important interpretations for developing real estate market.     

House Prices, Housing Investment and Demography Forecasts from the LBS/Abbey National Model of the UK Housing Market

A new housing sector has been incorporated into the London Business School model. This article outlines the new housing model, summarizes the research which has gone into its construction, and presents a forecast of the UK housing market. Using the new housing model, we forecast a moderate recovery in the housing market in the later part of 1991 and 1992. This recovery is however short-lived and does not result in such high rates of house price increase as previous house price booms (Chart 1).
Cuts in interest rates following entry to the exchange rate mechanism of the EMS prompt a recovery in house prices from the middle of 1991. House price inflation then peaks with an increase in average UK house prices in 1992 of 11 per cent over the previous year. Increases in real personal disposable income are modest, by the standards of the 1980s, and for this reason the recovery does not develop the momentum of previous house price booms. House price inflation moderates again in 1993 falling back to around 7 per cent. Housing starts and housing investment recover only slightly from their present depressed levels.
the recovery in house prices is weaker than that foreseen in our April Forecast Release. This is because real personal disposable income is now forecast to grow more slowly during 1991. Sterling's membership of the ERM is followed by a fall in interest rates, but it is the timing of interest rate cuts rather than their magnitude which differs from the earlier forecast. The changed profile of interest rates has altered the house price forecast only marginally.     

Economic Outlook 1991 – 1995: The London Business School with Gower Publishing: THE HOUSING MAFUCJIT IN RECESSION : A PAINFUL ADJUSTMENT TO ERM DISCIPLINE

We, together with almost every other commentator on the UK housing market, forecast a recovery of house prices and turnover during 1991. These hopes have been disappointed. This Forecast Release addresses some of the questions raised by this prolonged weakness in the housing market. Why did we, and so many others mis-judge the outlook for house prices and housing investment? Are there structural problems, especially those associated with the adjustment to the inflationary discipline of the E M, which are preventing a revival? When will recoverly take place and can there ever be a house-price boom similar to 1984–1988 again? One reason for the unanticipated weakness of the housing market is the growing problem of mortgage arrears and possessions. This can be expected to produce at least some temporary weakening of house prices as a reaction to the current volume of empty properties being put onto the market. There is a more fundamental reason for the current weakness of house prices. Unlike previous house price booms and busts, the present recession offers no relief to the hard-pressed borrower in the form of a rapid inflation of average earnings. Difficulties with mortgage repayments, for highly indebted households, are set to continue for some time. These lessons are not being lost, either on prospective purchasers who are’ being discouraged from taking out substantial mortgages in relation to their incomes, or on mortgage lenders who are being much more prudent in the setting of mortgage to- income and mortgage-to-price limits. The result is a long overdue adjustment of British attitudes towards own er-occupation.     

Bubble trouble ‐ are British house prices significantly overvalued?

The OECD last December said British house prices were overvalued by 30% or more. There has been much talk, including in a 2005 speech by Gordon Brown, of a house price bubble. This article, by Gavin Cameron, John Muellbauer and Anthony Murphy of Oxford University, finds no significant evidence for a bubble from a dynamic panel data model of British regional house prices between 1972 and 2003. The model consists of a system of inverted housing demand equations, incorporating spatial interactions and lags and relevant spatial parameter heterogeneity. The results are data consistent, with plausible long-run solutions and include a full range of explanatory variables. Novel features of the model include transaction cost effects influencing the speed of adjustment and housing market flows, as well as stocks, driving prices. Furthermore, the model allows for shifts in real and nominal interest rate effects as credit markets liberalised.     

新时期完善我国房地产市场体系研究

由于我国住房供给制度不够完善,致使住房供给和需求不匹配。高收入者能够购买多套住房,而低收入者却买不起房,只能借助于住房保障体系解决居住问题。由于国内外多种因素的影响,市场商品房价格不断提高。政府若能积极完善好住房保障体系,便能解决社会中大多数低收入者的住房问题,逐步下降商品住房房价。本文认为,我国房地产市场的主要问题是供给和需求体系的不匹配,社会低收入者住房保障不够完善。故此总结了新时期我国房地产市场发展的新问题,并深入分析了房地产市场体系中的缺陷,提出了完善房地产市场体系的措施和方法。     

The migration response to local labour market shocks: Evidence from EU regions during the global economic crisis

The global economic crisis has strongly affected Europe's economic geography. This study investigates the role of local labour market disparities in determining regional net in‐migration rates. While only a weak link is detected in the precrisis period, the local labour market context of migration grows significantly stronger during the crisis. Decompositions of the estimation results show that changes in migration rates are firstly a result of widened disparities across European regions throughout the crisis. However, also behavioural adjustment processes occur, e.g. an orientation of migrants towards urban areas and away from regions with persistently high long‐run unemployment rates.     

瑞士住宅市场特征解读及启示

与其他国家相比,瑞士住宅市场有四大特征:一是瑞士居民主体以租房为主,房地产的自有化率比较低;二是瑞士的房价高,但住宅市场保持平稳,并未出现周期性的高潮阶段和低谷阶段;三是瑞士住宅市场的空置率很低;四是公共租赁房占据租赁市场的最大份额。这些特征可以为我国的房地产政策的长效机制提供借鉴。     

The down-payment constraint and UK housing market: Does the theory fit the facts?

This paper considers empirical implications of the down-payment constraint for the UK housing market. It shows that, at the aggregate-level, models of the housing market with this constraint are consistent with a number of stylized facts. The paper then exploits variation across local housing markets and considers how leverage affects the response of house price inflation to shocks. The evidence, based on data for 147 district-level housing markets for the period 1993–2002, suggests that a large incidence of households with high leverage (loan-to-value ratios) raises the sensitivity of house prices to a shock. This is also consistent with the down-payment constraint model.     

The influence of gay and lesbian coupled households on house prices in conservative and liberal neighborhoods

Gays and lesbians perceive themselves to be targets of discrimination in the housing market. Previous research has found that the presence of gays and lesbians is associated with increased housing values. We reconcile the perceived discrimination and research results by classifying neighborhoods as more conservative or liberal according to voting outcomes of the “Defense Of Marriage Act”. Using a data set comprised of over 20,000 house sale observations, we show that an increase in the number of same-sex coupled households is associated with an increase in house prices in more liberal neighborhoods and a decrease in house prices in more conservative neighborhoods. This suggests that gay and lesbian coupled households do experience prejudice in conservative neighborhoods.     

Heterogeneous expectations,boom-bust housing cycles,and supply conditions: A nonlinear economic dynamics approach

We combine a standard stock-flow housing market model, incorporating explicit relationships between house prices, the housing stock, and the rent level, with a parsimonious expectation formation scheme of housing market investors, reflecting an evolving mix of extrapolative and regressive expectation rules. The model results in a two-dimensional discrete-time nonlinear dynamical system. Based on realistic parameters, the model is able to generate endogenous boom-bust housing market dynamics with lasting periods of overvaluation and overbuilding. We thus exploit our model to investigate how real forces, in particular supply conditions, interact with expectations-driven housing market fluctuations.     

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.     

House prices and consumer welfare

We develop a new approach to measuring changes in consumer welfare due to changes in the price of owner-occupied housing. In our approach, an agent's welfare adjustment is defined as the transfer required to keep expected discounted utility constant given a change in current house prices. We demonstrate that, up to a first-order approximation, there is no aggregate change in welfare due to price increases in the existing housing stock. This follows from a simple market clearing condition where capital gains experienced by sellers are exactly offset by welfare losses to buyers. We show that this result holds (approximately) even in a model that accounts for changes in consumption and investment plans prompted by current house price changes. There can, however, be changes in welfare due to additions to the stock of housing, or to changes in the price of renovating and upgrading the existing stock of housing. For the United States, we estimate the welfare cost of house price appreciation to be an average of $127 per household per year over the 1984–1998 period.     

Self-selection and intermunicipal migration in Canada

"This paper investigates individual intermunicipal migration behaviour in Canada within the context of a human capital model that adjusts for the migrant's selectivity in computing expected income gains. In addition to the typical regional determinants of migration, housing and labour market characteristics are found to influence intermunicipal migration significantly, the effects differing with age. Structural coefficients remained more or less stable during the decade 1971-1981. It is shown that the failure to adjust income gains for selectivity bias results in an underestimation of the migration-impacts of income gains and municipal-specific factors."