Editorial

Citation

Reed, R.G. (2012), "Editorial", International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Vol. 5 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhma.2012.35105daa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Volume 5, Issue 4

There continues to be increased interest in housing market analysis which has been due to a combination of recent factors and influences. This post global financial crisis era and the associated levels of global volatility, especially in the eurozone, has been indirectly linked to availability of funding, GDP and employment; each of these are also drivers of house prices. In addition there has been an increased acceptance that whilst housing provides shelter, it is also a major form of investment in society. When the focus has been commonly placed on availability of funds in retirement, the traditional family home is seen as an investment for the future when certainty relating to other forms of investment (e.g. equities) have remained somewhat unreliable and volatile. Furthermore, the housing sector is a major employer and more housing investment equates to more employment. The significance of this relationship cannot be understated, therefore understanding how housing markets will function in the future continues to be a fundamental area of interest for decisions about economic policy on both micro and macro-economic levels.

These six papers contribute directly to existing knowledge about housing markets and are ideally suited for publication in this issue of the International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis. Where a diverse range of countries are represented in this issue, there is also a cross-section of topics examined including sustainability, property cycles and mortgage lending.

The first paper provides a rare insight into the Chinese housing market from the perspective of consumer credit with reference to risk assessment. The determinants affecting mortgage defaults were identified and examined based on data collected from the “Construction Bank of China”. The findings confirmed the credit rating of a borrower, the relevant lending rate and the length of the loan are all directly related to the risk of default and also the amount of the loan. The next paper then shifts to the housing market in Iran when an analysis is conducted of the determinants of housing via an analysis of the value of each property, the valuations, the rents and also the accumulated returns. The data was sourced from 38 provinces in Iran with the results providing an explanation about the relationship between housing and relevant determinants including inflation, population, employment levels and GDP. The implications for house prices are that higher house values are directly linked to changes in these key determinants.

The third paper examines the housing market in Australia with the emphasis placed on intervention due to the introduction of public policy. More specifically, the government has been promoting the introduction of mandatory disclosure of energy efficiency rating systems for housing. The paper investigates the implications of enforcing this legislation in the housing market, particularly with regards to the level of house prices. Attention is placed on the consumer behaviour of purchasers and also examines the optimal approach to examining this policy within the context of the Australian housing market. The next paper challenges current thinking about the optimal approach to analysing price changes in single person housing. The data is based on the US market and the findings provide an argued case that the median comparison approach is best suited for research purposes due to both the level of simplicity and also the usefulness in interpretation. This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion and debate about the optimal approach to measuring house prices and it is envisaged this debate will continue with future publications in this journal.

The fifth paper is innovative and examines the “real time” search behaviour of households when looking to purchase a residential property, where it seeks to measure the “live” level of demand via technology. This is achieved via analysing the use of search terms on “Google” in response to the UK housing market. The findings overcome problems associated with the lag between the initial search behaviour and being able to measure when the search occurred, which in turn allows stakeholders in the market to adjust much faster to changes in housing demand. The final paper focuses on the co-movement between housing cycles which arguably are not fully understood from a global perspective. Most importantly, the data relates to house price cycles in a large range of countries including Japan, Germany and The Netherlands. The analysis is based on the premise that housing markets have become more integrated since the 1990s and the findings confirmed this hypothesis.

All papers are ideally suited to the increased interest in examining and understanding housing markets from a global perspective, where the issue was ideally rounded out by the sixth paper examining multiple countries and relevant cycles. More so, this issue has covered a diverse range of countries and associated housing markets as well as examining varying topics of significance. I would like thank authors and reviewers for their continuing support and encourage you to contribute to the growing interest in understanding housing markets by e-mailing the Editor at: richard.reed@deakin.edu.au

Richard G. Reed