Editorial

Citation

Reed, R. (2008), "Editorial", International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Vol. 1 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhma.2008.35101baa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Volume 1, Issue 2.

This issue of The International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis (IJHMA) includes a cross-section of papers which are ideally suited to the journal, especially within the dual mandate of being "international" and also involving "housing markets and analysis". Some of the challenges faced with a journal of this nature, which covers such a relatively broad global topic, is to ensure the content is authentic, a genuine contribution to knowledge and that research that is both topical and diverse. I am pleased to confirm this issue has achieved these goals with enormous success. In addition the quality and quantity of submissions to IJHMA confirms the demand for a journal where high quality relevant research can be published.

In recent times housing markets have attracted a high degree of interest from many perspectives and this trend appears certain to continue. Housing provides a solid and essential foundation for many societies, where housing is commonly accepted as having the largest land use. In many western countries housing also represents the largest single household asset which may be accompanied by investment in additional income-earning residential properties or a holiday home. However, many economies have been affected by the cyclical nature of the housing markets, especially with reference to credit availability. This, in turn, has had an indirect effect on housing affordability for both existing and future homeowners. Issues surrounding credit availability and borrowing costs substantially raise the profile of housing markets and the stakeholders in the general marketplace. Accordingly this journal is well suited to discuss these issues and submissions are openly encouraged to examine the direct and indirect effects upon the housing market.

The six papers in this journal relate to broad range of countries including Nigeria, China, USA and Portugal. Each paper adopts contrasting research approaches, ranging from an insightful literature review about housing in Nigeria to hedonic modelling in the USA. IJHMA is also proud to publish an excellent paper by Ting Xu that received the IJHMA Best Paper Award at 14th Annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Society (PRRES) Conference in Malaysia the paper is titled "Heterogeneity in housing attribute prices: A study of the interaction behaviour between property specifics, location coordinates and buyer's characteristics".

The editor welcomes feedback about the content of each issue and the direction of the journal itself, which will continue to change as housing research areas increase and decrease in importance. Most of all, IJHMA is designed to fill a large void in research into international housing markets from a practical perspective and has achieved this goal in 2008.

Richard Reed