Macroeconomic effects of a decline in housing prices in Sweden

Abstract

Real housing prices in Sweden have roughly doubled the last 15 years. The rise in housing prices has coincided with a rise in household debt, sparking debate about both the presence of financial imbalances in the Swedish economy and the macroeconomic effects that a correction of these imbalances would have. In this paper, we conduct a quantitative assessment of the macroeconomic effects of a considerable decline in housing prices using a Bayesian VAR model. Results show that a 20% drop in housing prices would lead to a recession-like impact on household consumption and unemployment. The impact would be even greater if falling housing prices coincided with a global economic downturn. This information should be useful to policymakers. If a fall in housing prices were to materialize, more expansionary stabilization policies would be motivated in order to dampen the effects on the real economy.