In this study, we investigate the relationship between national and global uncertainty with house prices. Uncertainty is measured with the economic policy uncertainty index developed by Baker et al. (2016). The relationship is evaluated with eight SVAR-models that are Cholesky decomposed to restrict the contemporaneous relationship between variables, this is used to model the housing market. We create two models for each country, one that includes the local uncertainty and one that includes global uncertainty. The studied countries are two larger and two smaller economies in the EU, namely Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and France. We investigate the impulse response functions to establish the short-run dynamics and then compare them amongst each other. The results show that uncertainty has a negative effect on house prices and that global uncertainty hasa larger impact than local uncertainty, except for Sweden´s case. Germany is most resilient to the effect of uncertainty among the studied countries. This can be because of the size of the rental housing market in Germany. Interestingly we also find that in all cases except for Denmark our models don’t find a consistent relationship between short-term interest and housing prices in the short run, which can be an indication of a bubble. Further studies are required to investigate how different housing policies affect the volatility of the housing market that is created by uncertainty.

Den svenska bostadsmarknaden har de senaste åren haft en växande trend och trycket påbostäder har under en längre period varit högt. Priserna har stadigt ökat, framför allt iStockholmsregionen. Flera faktorer har medverkat till de stigande bostadspriserna och allt flerregleringar har införts för att dämpa prisutvecklingen. Dessa regleringar har satt högre krav påbolånetagare och det är numera svårare att få ett bostadslån beviljat med statens och bankernasnya kriterier. Redan innan införandet av mer utvidgade regleringar var möjligheten förungdomar att ta sig in på bostadsmarknaden svår. De nya regleringarna har försvårat situationenytterligare då de främst omfattar nya låntagare, vilket i många fall är ungdomar som vill köpasin första bostad.I en jämförelse mellan Sverige och Norge avseende den yngre målgruppen visar statistik på attfler unga äger sitt boende i Norge jämfört med i Sverige. Vid en närmare analys av de olikamarknaderna finns flertalet anledningar till varför statistiken skiljer sig åt. Den utmärkande ochhögst intressanta skillnaden är att det i Norge finns ett speciellt utformat bosparsystem,Boligsparing for ungdom, för just ungdomar med avsikt att främja bosparande hos unga.I detta arbete har en mer ingående analys gjorts av det norska Boligsparing for ungdom ochvidare undersökning på hur den svenska bostadsmarknaden, inriktat på den yngre målgruppen,skulle komma att påverkas genoms ett införande av motsvarande bosparssystem i Sverige.Dessutom har en analys gjorts över hur ungas möjlighet att finansiera en bostad kan komma attförändras genom att införa ett subventionerat bosparsystem. Vidare innehåller arbetet hur densvenska bostadsmarknaden kan bli mer lättillgänglig för unga och vilka åtgärder som behövsför att ungdomar ska få möjlighet att välja den boendeform de vill ha. / The Swedish housing market has grown during the past few years and the demand for propertieshas been high for quite some time. The prices have steadily increased, especially in theStockholm region. Several factors have contributed to the increased house prices andregulations have been introduced to dampen price developments. These regulations have puthigher demands on mortgage lenders. And it is now more difficult to get a mortgage loangranted with the new criteria set by the state and the banks. Even before the introduction ofmore extended regulations, youths’ possibility to enter the housing market was difficult. Theopportunity for youths has been further aggravated as a result of the regulations that mainlytarget new lenders, which in many cases are young adults wanting to buy their first property.In a comparison between Sweden and Norway regarding youths’ ability to enter the housingmarket, statistics show that more young adults have bought their own properties by a youngerage in Norway than in Sweden. When analyzing the countries’ different housing markets, wehave found several reasons for the statistics to differ. One distinct and very interestingdifference is that there is a specially developed saving system for youths in Norway calledBoligsparing for ungdom, with the intention of promoting youths’ saving.In this study, a closer analysis has been made of the Norwegian saving system and furtherinvestigation into how the Swedish housing market, targeting youths, would be affected by theintroduction of the corresponding saving system in Sweden. In addition, an analysis has beenmade regarding if Swedish youths’ opportunity to finance a housing will be affected byintroducing a subsidized saving system. Furthermore, this study will focus on how the Swedishhousing market could become more accessible to young adults and needed measures to enableyouths to choose the type of housing they want.

I takt med de låga bolåneräntorna och de skenande bostadspriserna i Sverige har skuldsättningen och skuldkvoten i de svenska hushållen ökat markant de senaste åren. Då en högt skuldsatt befolkning utgör en risk vid en makroekonomisk störning har Finansinspektionen, i syfte för att bromsa denna utveckling, tagit fram finanspolitiska regleringar som belåningsgrad och amorteringskrav. Ännu en finanspolitisk reglering, i form av ett skuldkvotstak, diskuteras om det ska lagstadgas för att fortsätta bromsa den svenska skuldsättningen.  Med hjälp av kvalitativa undersökningar i form av fem semistrukturerade intervjuer och analys av finansiella rapporter från myndigheter ämnar denna uppsats att undersöka hur ett lagstadgat skuldkvotstak skulle påverka den svenska bostadsmarknaden samt hur den praktiska påverkan skiljer sig från den teoretiska.  Uppsatsens slutsats är att ett lagstadgat skuldkvotstak inte kommer påverka bostadsmarknaden så markant. En viss minskning i efterfrågan kommer antagligen att ske, men då bankerna redan idag har starka regleringar kommer ytterligare en reglering inte ha en så signifikant påverkan på bostadsmarknaden. Då Stockholm har en högre andel bostadsrätter än Göteborg och Malmö kommer minskningen i pris-, transaktions-, och byggmarknaden med stor sannolikhet vara större i Stockholm.  Denna studie bidrar till ny och ökad kunskap genom att tillhandahålla djupare förståelse kring effekterna av ett lagstadgat skuldkvotstak på den svenska bostadsmarknaden. / In line with the low mortgage rates and the high housing prices in Sweden, debt and debt ratios in Swedish households have increased rapidly in recent years. Since a highly indebted population poses a risk in the situation of a macroeconomic disturbance, the Financial Supervisory Authority has developed fiscal regulations such as loan ratios and amortization requirements, in aim of slowing down the development of the risk. In addition, another fiscal regulation, the debt-to-income limit, is being discussed as to whether or not it should be established to continue the process of slowing down the Swedish debts.  Through qualitative approach in the form of five semi-structured interviews and analysis of financial reports from authorities, this paper aims at investigating how a statutory debt-to-income limit would affect the Swedish housing market and how the practical impact differs from the theoretical. The conclusion is that a statutory debt-to-income limit does not affect the housing market so significantly. A certain decrease in demand is likely to happen, but since the banks already have strong regulations, further regulation will not have such a significant impact on the housing market. Since Stockholm has a higher proportion of condominiums than Gothenburg and Malmö, the effects on the price, transaction, and construction market will with great probability be larger in Stockholm. This study contributes to a new knowledge by providing a deeper understanding on how a statutory debt-to-income limit would affect the Swedish housing market.

Fenomenet ”såld före visning” är i dagsläget inte lika förekommande som för enbart något år sedan. Detta beror huvudsakligen på att marknaden stabiliserats. Vår studie går ut på att undersöka hur såld före visning påverkar mäklare, säljare och köpare. Varför vi valde att studera just såld före visning är för att det är ett fenomen som förekommer i de flesta marknadssituationer, men där fenomenet ökar markant i frekvens i vissa situationer och i vissa marknadstillstånd. Vi ville försöka förstå vilka konsekvenser fenomenet får på huvudintressenterna vid en bostadsrättsaffär. Vi har kartlagt hur en traditionell försäljning kan se ut för att se hur denna skiljer sig från en försäljning där objektet sålts före visning. För att få svar på de frågeställningar vi tagit fram, utfördes intervjuer med fyra mäklare samt en mäklarassistent från fem olika fastighetsförmedlingsföretag.  Den slutsats vi kom fram till är att såld före visning kan förekomma i alla typer av marknadsklimat, men fenomenet är klart mest förekommande när bostadsmarknaden är stark eller ännu mer när marknaden är överhettad. Vi bedömer att såld före visning ibland kan innebära vissa fördelar för parterna, om än i olika omfattning beroende på situation. Vår bedömning är att fenomenet såld före visning är mer negativ än positiv, som helhet setttill hur det påverkar både köpare, säljare och inte minst mäklare. Utöver detta har vi funnitstöd från myndigheter och utredare, vilka pekar på att en dysfunktionell bostadsmarknad kanfå stor negativ påverkan på den totala ekonomin i landet, vilket naturligtvis även påverkarindividerna i grupperingarna köpare, säljare och mäklare.Vi menar också att lagstiftaren velat förse marknaden med regler så att ingen part i enbostadsaffär ska bli förfördelad, dvs. att varje affär ska göras upp under så rättvisaförhållanden som möjligt.Vår rekommendation är att om det inte är genomförbart att via lagstiftning ellermyndighetsbeslut begränsa alltför snabba affärer genom att införa en mer långtgåendeundersökningsplikt och/eller tvång till öppna visningar med krav på minimitid mellan visningoch avslut – vilket vore det mest verkningsfulla – så borde bostadsmarknadensintresseorganisationer kunna utverka betydligt mer kraftfulla rekommendationer, i sammaandemening som nämnt ovan, så att hastigheten i bostadsaffärerna på detta sätt bromsas uppäven i den mest överhettade bostadsmarknad. / The phenomenon "sold before viewing" is currently not as common in the Swedish housing market as in previous years. The main reason for this is that the housing market has stabilized. Our study focuses on examining why pre-viewing purchases occurs, the reason as well as how brokers, sellers and buyers are affected.  We have chosen to study sold before viewing because today this phenomenon is constantly recurring - more frequent in certain situations and even more so at certain market climates. We want to understand what consequences the phenomenon has on the different parties of a housing deal. We have looked into what a traditional sale looks like in order to see how it differs from a deal where the object is sold before viewing. In order to answer the questions we raised, interviews were conducted with four different brokers, as well as one broker assistant from various real estate agencies.  The conclusion we reached is that sold before viewing can occur in all types of market climate, but the phenomenon is clearly most common when the housing market is strong or even more so when the market is overheated. We estimate that pre-viewing purchases can provide benefits to all parties of varying degrees depending on the situation,  Our standpoint is that the consequences of the phenomenon sold before viewing is more negative than positive, taking an overall view over how it affects the buyer, the seller and even more so the broker. On top of that we have found support from authorities and researchers pointing at that a dysfunctional housing market can have severe negative effect on the total national economy – which of course also affects the individuals as well.  We have also taken in the view that the legislator has attempted to provide the market with rules so that no party is compromised, and that all business are being executed at as fair terms as possible. Our recommendation is that if it’s not doable to legislate around excessively fast business in the housing market, thus by law force buyers to a duty of examination, and/or force sellers to execute open viewings with a minimum of days between viewing and closing a deal – which would have an immediate effect – stakeholders such as branch organizations, should express much more powerful recommendations, as those mentioned above, so that the velocity of housing business is slowing down even in the most overheated market.

Att välja var man ska bo är ett stort beslut för människor där många faktorer spelar in. Med den växande kriminella närvaron och skjutvåldet i Sverige som det ofta skrivs om i media är det inte orimligt att tro att även detta spelar in, människor vill vara trygga där de bor. I denna studie undersöker vi genom en tvärsnittsanalys huruvida det föreligger ett samband mellan priset på bostadsrätter i Stockholms län under 2019 och antalet skjutningar i närområdet under 2018. Genom att kontrollera för sannolikheten att det skjuts i ett område kan vi sedan hantera en skjutning som slumpmässig händelse. Inledningsvis tyder resultatet på ett negativt samband men allt eftersom vi inkluderar kontrollvariabler för att göra skjutningarna slumpmässiga minskar effekten och sambandet blir slutligen svagt positivt. Slutsatsen blir att ytterligare studier behövs för att kunna fastställa den verkliga effekten. / Choosing where to live is an important decision for individuals, influenced by numerous factors. With the growing presence of criminal activities and gun violence in Sweden, often highlighted in the media, it is not unreasonable to consider that this factor also plays a role as people seek safety in their residential areas. This study conducts a cross-sectional analysis to investigate the potential correlation between the prices of condominiums in Stockholm County during 2019 and the number of shootings in the nearby area during 2018. By controlling for the probability of shootings in an area, we aim to treat a shooting incident as a random shock. Initially, the results suggest a negative correlation, yet as we include further controls to treat the shootings as random occurrences, the effect diminishes, ultimately resulting in a weakly positive correlation. Consequently, the conclusion drawn is that further research is necessary to conclusively determine the actual impact.

The housing market is one of the most important markets for many economic agents. Large differences in the local market across Sweden suggest regional heterogeneity, however. This study aims to answer if the price and income elasticities of demand for small houses vary between different types of Swedish municipalities. This answer is explored in the light of the central place theory and location theory to see if they follow a hierarchal structure across space. To test this empirically, the 290 municipalities were grouped based on the Swedish Association of Local Authority and Regions’ definitions and tested group-wise using a log-log fixed-effect average hedonic price model using data for 2013-2020. The main findings indicate some differences in the estimates of price and income elasticities between different types of municipalities, but mixing results whether they follow a hierarchal relationship. The conclusions changes depending on which scale one measure, which indicate how local the housing market is.

No description available.

This paper aims to investigate whether changes in economic sentiment and major policy shifts have had any significant impact on Scandinavian real housing prices relative their fundamental value post year 2000. Fundamental housing price indices for each constituent of the region are estimated from macroeconomic fundamentals in a VAR framework. We then estimate impulse response functions from another VAR to test the effects of survey-based economic sentiment on the fundamental price spread in each housing market. In addition, we investigate how major housing related policies implemented during our sample period have affected the fundamental price spreads in an ARDL framework. The study concludes a substantially undervalued Danish housing market post 2008 and a marginally yet persistently overvalued Norwegian market, whereas Swedish and Finnish housing prices have developed fairly in line with levels motivated by macroeconomic fundamentals. Changes in economic sentiment show limited effect on closing the fundamental price spread in Denmark, but no significant impact on any other housing market considered. The elected policies representing major housing market shifts have had significant negative impact on the real housing price development in Denmark and Norway but not in Finland and Sweden. The policy shift in Finland has significantly yet marginally closed the fundamental price spread during the period investigated. Interestingly, implemented LTV- and DTI caps in Sweden have neither affected real aggregate housing prices nor the fundamental price spread.

Housing affordability has been impacted by rising house prices in Europe and it is argued that home-sharing is making housing less affordable. The purpose of this thesis is to provide empirical evidence whether home sharing has a relationship on housing affordability by utilizing an extensive set of Airbnb listings data acquired from multiple European urban cities between the years of 2011and 2020. We conduct a panel data analysis using a fixed effects model to regress the relationship between the accumulated Airbnb supply and price-to-income ratio. The results display statistically insignificant results between the price-to-income ratio and the accumulated supply of Airbnb, implying that there is not enough statistical evidence to determine the relationship between short-term rental and European housing affordability. We unfold this relationship through analyzing transmission mechanisms such as supply reallocation, changes in demand and positive and negative externalities, and reassure the validity of our results through the use of comprehensive robustness tests. Additionally, we explore the agglomeration of the Airbnb listings by separating cities to further distinguish that the varying relationship depends on the size of the Airbnb market. We find that cities with high Airbnb supply have a positive relationship with the price-to-income ratio.

Over the last decade, the United States had experienced a boom and bust in the subprime mortgage market. The ups and downs of the subprime mortgage market became a primary factor triggering the most severe global economic recession since the Great Depression. The dissertation contributes to the literature by inquiring whether the subprime lending has exacerbated social inequity between subprime neighborhoods and other neighborhoods, through analyzing the subprime mortgage market in the Philadelphia MSA from 2000 through 2010, and focusing on two research questions: (1) the spatial distribution of subprime mortgages across census tracts; (2) the relationship between subprime intensities and housing price variations across zip-code areas. As the dissertation's study area expands from an urban to a MSA, spatial heterogeneity merits attention in this relative huge area. As a result, this dissertation not only employs a global, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model, but also a local, Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model to examine spatial variations across different neighborhoods. For the first research question, the dissertation finds: (1) a higher concentration of higher-priced mortgage for purchase and refinance in tracts with higher proportion of African-American and Hispanic residents, lower median household incomes, higher-unemployment rates, lower self-employment rates, and higher capitalization rates, after controlling for other variables; (2) the association between higher-priced mortgages and explanatory variables varies across census tracts. Because the dynamics of neighborhood subprime originations are heterogamous, the association between subprime mortgage origination and socioeconomic characteristics may be stronger in some neighborhoods than other neighborhoods. For the second research question, the dissertation finds: (1) subprime mortgage shares have a significant negative association with housing price appreciations during the housing boom period (2001-2006); (2) subprime mortgage shares have a significant positive association with housing price depreciations during the housing bust period (2006-2010); and (3) the association between housing price variations and explanatory variables differs across geographic submarkets within the Philadelphia region. The result confirms that areas where more residents obtained subprime mortgages have suffered more severely than other from the housing market's ups and downs over the last decade. The empirical results can draw broad policy implications. The primary implication is that it is time for the federal government to rethink its homeownership policy. Increased homeownership levels arising from the expansion of subprime mortgages are not sustainable, and subprime lending has exacerbated social inequity between subprime neighborhoods and other neighborhoods. The second implication is that the government needs to enforce the fair lending laws, because the cluster of subprime mortgage origination reflects the unequal opportunities of prime mortgage accessibility across different neighborhoods. The third implication is that the government needs to promote place-based policy making. As the GWR demonstrates, the dynamics of the mortgage market and housing market are uneven across different neighborhoods. Therefore, place-based making can increase the efficiency of public policy. These implications based on the dissertation's empirical results are helpful for designing more efficient, effective, and sustainable housing policies of the United States. / Urban Studies