Like many other assets, housing prices are quite volatile relative to observable changes in fundamentals. If we are going to understand boom-bust housing cycles, we must incorporate housing supply. In this paper, we present a simple model of housing bubbles that predicts that places with more...

The volatility of house prices and construction levels is high. Both exhibit strong positive serial correlations at 1-year frequencies, Prices show strong mean reversion over 5-year periods. This paper asks whether these facts can be reconciled in a dynamic housing model, where in the tradition...

Institutional investors typically allocate under 5 per cent of their portfolios to income-producing real estate, yet the results of most academic studies imply that far larger allocations are optimal. One widespread argument is that the conflict between observed behaviour and scholarly...

A new survey of over 2000 jurisdictions across all major housing markets in the US documents how regulation of residential building varies across space. New evidence on what a `typical' degree of local regulation entails is provided. In addition, data on how the stringency of land use control...

A radical rethinking of housing policy is needed to allow housing markets to operate freely--and to make housing affordable and plentiful for the middle class and the poor.

A wide array of local government regulations influences the amount, location, and shape of residential development. In this chapter, we review the literature on the causes and effects of this type of regulation. We begin with a discussion of how researchers measure regulation empirically, which...

Previous research on the United States and Japan finds economically large impacts of changing real estate collateral value on firm investment that amplified the business cycles of those countries. Working with unique data on land values in 35 major Chinese markets and a panel of firms outside...

For many years operating companies around the world generally have owned their realestate assets. In the United States alone it is estimated that corporate users own nearly $2 trillion,or roughly half of all commercial property. Companies own not only their production facilities,but frequently...

Since 1950, housing prices have risen regularly by almost two percent per year. Between 1950 and 1970, this increase reflects rising housing quality and construction costs. Since 1970, this increase reflects the increasing difficulty of obtaining regulatory approval for building new homes. In...