This open access book discusses booming housing markets in cities around the globe, and the resulting challenges for policymakers and central banks. Cities are booming everywhere, leading to a growing demand for urban housing. In many cities this demand is out-pacing supply, which causes house prices to soar and increases the pressure on rental markets. These developments are posing major challenges for policymakers, central banks and other authorities responsible for ensuring financial stability, and economic well-being in general.This volume collects views from high-level policymakers and researchers, providing essential insights into these challenges, their impact on society, the economy and financial stability, and possible policy responses. The respective chapters address issues such as the popularity of cities, the question of a credit-fueled housing bubble, the role of housing supply frictions and potential policy solutions. Given its scope, the book offers a revealing read and valuable guide for everyone involved in practical policymaking for housing markets, mortgage credit and financial stability.

The field of urban economics is built on an analysis of housing prices, land rents, housing consumption, spatial form, and other aspects of urban residential structure. Drawing on the journal publications and teaching notes of Professor John Yinger of Syracuse University, Housing and Commuting: The Theory of Urban Residential Structure presents a simple model of urban residential structure and shows how the model's results change when key assumptions are made more realistic. This book provides a wide-ranging introduction to research on urban residential structure. Topics covered range from theoretical analysis of urban structure with different transportation systems or multiple worksites to empirical work on the impact of local public services on house values and the impact of racial prejudice and discrimination on housing choices. Graduate students and scholars who want to learn about research in urban economics will find this book to be a good starting point.

This second volume of the Handbook presents professional surveys of all the important topics in urban economics. The first section contains 6 surveys on locational analysis, the second, 5 surveys of specific urban markets, and the third part presents 5 surveys of government policy issues. The book brings together exhaustive research by distinguished scholars from many countries. It is the only complete survey volume of urban economics and should serve as a reference volume to scholars and graduate students for many years. For more information on the Handbooks in Economics series, please see our home page on http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/hes--

The present volume is an outgrowth of several years' interactions be tween U. S. American and W. -German economists interested in analyzing the structure and functioning of housing markets, and the impacts of govern mental policies on these markets. Such an interaction turns out to be fruitful in several respects. Unquestionably, German economists can learn a lot from the high level of sophistication exhibited in much of the American literature. However, this is not a one way road of learning and the adoption of concepts, for the following reason. Most of the analysis presented in that literature hinges on the use of the standard microeco nomics textbook tools. Now, even a casual observation of housing markets in European countries reveals that behavior and conduct in these markets do not follow the assumptions presumed in this mode of analysis, which calls into question the uncritical employment of that tool kit. This has important consequences for policy analysis and indeed, for some principal attitudes towards housing policy, and points sharply to the need for developing analytical concepts that take up more of the pecul iarities of housing market behavior and conduct. While such a develop ment may be particularly warranted in view of European housing markets, we maintain this to be the case in view of the American housing market as well.

This book explores how econometric modelling can be used to provide valuable insight into international housing markets. Initially describing the role of econometrics modelling in real estate market research and how it has developed in recent years, the book goes on to compare and contrast the impact of various macroeconomic factors on developed and developing housing markets. Explaining the similarities and differences in the impact of financial crises on housing markets around the world, the author's econometric analysis of housing markets across the world provides a broad and nuanced perspective on the impact of both international financial markets and local macro economy on housing markets. With discussion of countries such as China, Germany, UK, US and South Africa, the lessons learned will be of interest to scholars of Real Estate economics around the world.