Introduction from the Editor

Citation

Reed, R.G. (2011), "Introduction from the Editor", International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Vol. 4 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhma.2011.35104baa.001

Introduction from the Editor

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Volume 4, Issue 2

The papers in this second issue of the fourth volume of the International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis examine housing markets in six different countries which individually face different and interesting challenges. Nevertheless, there are common themes in all housing markets including limited data availability and varying influences of financial and demographic factors. These papers all contribute to the increasing knowledge about international housing markets and this issue acknowledges the synergies and differences between each market.

The paper examining the housing market in Sweden focuses on rent control and the problems with housing shortages and high demand for rental property. It is acknowledged there have been few papers in the area which highlights the importance of this study. Professor Bob Hargreaves produced an excellent analysis over a time series of the investor housing market in Auckland, New Zealand. The findings identified influencing factors, such as government intervention and examined the risk-return trade-off and portfolio diversification in specific locations.

There have been very few papers produced about housing cycles in Malaysia where this issue includes a paper with an important contribution to this area. The discussion in this paper is centred on varying types of cycles related to different housing types including detached, medium, and high-density accommodation. The next paper is focused on the housing market in Lyon and Villeurbanne, France where approximately 10,000 unit sales were examined which occurred between 1997 and 2008. Using PCA, the findings provide an insight into the critical attributes of units and further areas for research in France.

The paper on the UK housing market covered a 25-year timeframe and examined factors including interest rates and depreciation rates in relation to fundamental house prices. This was significant when considering the recent global financial crisis and the status of the UK housing market since the GFC. The final paper is one of the few investigations into housing affordability in China, more specifically Lanzhou in north-west China. The timeframe was from 2001 to 2008 and the research findings provided increased knowledge about rapid increases in house prices and stakeholder influences.

These papers collectively provide a well-rounded analysis of international housing markets on different continents where economies have varying levels of development and progress. Whilst the actual design and construction attributes of housing may differ between locations and countries, the concept of important issues, such as housing affordability and house prices remain similar.

I encourage your feedback (richard.reed@deakin.edu.au) and thank you for your continued support of this journal.

Richard G. Reed