Editorial

Citation

Reed, R. (2017), "Editorial", International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 2-3. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHMA-12-2016-0079

Welcome to the first issue in the tenth volume of the International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis. The journal continues to go from strength to strength and has expanded to five issues per year from 2017. This is a result of collaborative hard work by the authors (producing quality contributions to knowledge), the reviewers (undertaking rigorous blind refereeing and taking time to provide feedback), the publishing team and the substantially increased readership. Since commencing with the journal from day one in 2007, there has been an increased focus on the housing market and the contribution it makes to the broader international property and real estate market. Please accept a sincere and personal thank you from the editor for the ongoing support from all stakeholders where the seven papers in this issue are an example of the high-quality research currently undertaken and published in this journal.

This issue contains eight housing-related papers which have undertaken research into diverse global housing markets. The first paper from Ghana examines the mortgage market in that country commencing with a review of the English legal origins. Attention is placed on differences in legal rules and regulations, as well as the introduction of legislation to improve the operation of the mortgage market. The second paper examines the elasticity of house prices in Nordic countries including Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The methodology used rolling regressions in the analysis when searching for time-varying betas, where the results confirmed that recessionary and expansionary policies play a more important role in the development of house prices in different Nordic countries.

The third paper from Australia examines attitudes in the Arabic-Australian community towards an innovative shared model of accommodation for seniors which facilitates a level of independence in a shared living environment. A survey of 520 participants was conducted and focussed on Arabic as the first or second language. The findings confirmed the existence of limited supporting for this living arrangement with the emphasis placed on companionship and cultural factors. The fourth paper examines innovation in the performance of small firms in the construction sector, including housing, in Malaysia. Data were drawn from 255 small firms which were within the category of “small contractors” and then examined using both descriptive and multiple regression analysis. The findings identified influencing factors relating to innovation and entrepreneurial capital which had a positive and significant relationship with the performance of the small firms, as well as identifying negative influencing factors.

The fifth paper examines student hostels in Cameroon and highlights the relationship between affordable housing with student welfare and academic performance. This is an innovative and unique study into this type of housing accommodation. The data collection was undertaken in 2015 involving a wide range of stakeholders which then provided invaluable insights into hostel accommodation. For example, it was shown that hostel management problems were at times linked to both hostel management and hostel tenants, where further examination identified the problems associated with each group.

The sixth paper from Australia investigated the relationship between historical districts and residential property values. Based on the city of Brisbane, the study examined 4,233 vacant residential site transactions which were analysed using hedonic regression. It was found that a significant and positive relationship existed between the level of property values based on whether the location was in a designated historical area. It was concluded a 10-11 per cent premium was applicable for these lots in contract to land outside the heritage area.

The seventh paper conducted research into housing preferences for new and affordable social housing projects in Ecuador. The aim was assist stakeholders, including developers and housing occupants, to achieve their expectations with reference to quality, affordability and profit levels. Varying model simulations were undertaken based on data relating to housing user preferences and financial restrictions for developers and housing users. The findings identified the attributes most preferred by housing users and also proposed an innovative model for stakeholders. The eighth and final paper looks into hedonic indexes for public and private housing in Costa Rica and used the adjacent period method of analysis. The study investigated and compared the quality-adjusted price of both private and public housing between 2000 and 2013; however, it was also concluded that public housing could not be produced cheaper in the private housing sector.

The breadth of housing-related papers, as well as the broad range of countries in this issue, are both evident in this issue with these eight papers. Coupled with the high-quality research output, there is always scope and encouragement for authors to submit prospective papers to the journal. Please contact me directly if I can be of assistance prior to submission and possible admission into the review process.

If you have any comments or are interested in submitting a research paper or reviewing potential publications, please contact the editor direct at ijhma@ijhma.com.