Introduction from the Editor

Richard Reed (Faculty of Business & Law, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia)

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis

ISSN: 1753-8270

Article publication date: 2 March 2015

139

Citation

Reed, R. (2015), "Introduction from the Editor", International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Vol. 8 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHMA-12-2014-0059

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Introduction from the Editor

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Volume 8, Issue 1

Welcome to the first issue in the eighth volume of the International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis. Demand for this journal, as measured by the increasing number of paper submissions and also the higher readership of the published papers, both continue to exceed expectations and keep me quite busy, which is very good. This results in the opportunity to undertake continuous improvement and to enhance the quality of the published research in this journal. This is the second year that the number of papers per issue has increased and this provides a variety of housing-related research topics per issue.

The first paper examined the housing preferences of residents in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, where the emphasis was placed on identifying the varying priorities for housing preferences. The data were analysed using a non-structural fuzzy decision support system, and the findings identified a priority list of preferences for structural housing attributes. The second paper investigated the responses measured by transaction volume to public land auctions in Hong Kong. Using an event study analysis, it was shown that:

  • fewer pre-event transactions in the secondary housing spot market are associated with greater dispersion in pre-event forecasts of land auctions; and

  • unexpected auction outcomes were found to minimise the post-event transaction volume in the secondary market.

The third paper received the “Best Housing Market Research Award” at the 20th Pacific Rim Real Estate Society conference in Christchurch, New Zealand, in January 2014. This paper examined five mainland cities in Australia, which were based on the demographic characteristics identified in the nationwide census of housing and population. The findings confirmed that socio structure can contribute to explaining median house prices for each city. The fourth paper from Italy examined the contribution of listing prices towards explaining house prices. With the emphasis placed on the listing behaviour of estate agents and sellers, the intent is also to examine the predictive power of house features listed in advertisements to undertaking house valuations.

The fifth paper analyses the housing market in the United Kingdom, more specifically how LIBOR and the variation between LIBOR and the interest rate (set by the Bank of England) influences the level of house prices. The monthly house prices data commences in 1986, and the results confirm that the Bank of England interest rate/LIBOR margin variable has a strong positive and significant effect on housing values. The sixth paper from Lithuania undertakes a regression-based housing market analysis and uses ARIMA modelling to assess the potential for forecasting. The findings confirmed that when modelling the Lithuanian house price index, the ARIMA outperformed all other specifications both ex-post and ex-ante. The seventh and final article is a discussion paper about the housing bubble between 2000 and 2008 in the United Kingdom, which followed previous bubbles in 1972 and 1990.

Referring to quarterly data and the author’s experience as a valuer, it was argued that instructions to valuers advising on properties offered as security for a mortgage loan have requested only a valuation based on the market as it existed at the time of the valuation without regard to the possibility that a change in economic circumstances could cause a fall in the value of the security. Many mortgagors have found on sale or repossession that their liability to repay their mortgage is greater than the value of the property.

Once again this issue includes a diverse range of research methodologies based on studies in six different countries. This is one of the core strengths of this journal and provides the readership with academic research with true practical implications. If you have any comments or are interested in submitting a research paper, then please contact the editor at: mailto:richard.reed@deakin.edu.au

Richard Reed

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