Housing Affordability Issues Research Articles

Quantitative Analysis of the Future of the Sharing Economy, Housing, White-Collar Labor Markets, and Problems in Big Cities

This research project explores the future of the sharing economy and its profound effects on housing markets, white-collar labor dynamics, and socio-economic challenges in large metropolitan areas. Using quantitative economics and econometric techniques, the study evaluates how platforms such as Airbnb, Uber, and coworking spaces are reshaping urban life, exacerbating housing affordability issues, and altering labor market structures. By analyzing housing market data, labor statistics, and platform economy data from major cities like New York, London, and Istanbul, this research provides empirical insights into how the sharing economy influences urban economic landscapes. The study employs difference-in-differences (DiD) and multivariate regression models to assess causal relationships, particularly in terms of housing market disruptions caused by short-term rental platforms and labor market fragmentation driven by the rise of gig and remote work. Spatial econometric techniques are also used to explore geographic disparities in housing and employment impacts across urban districts. Preliminary findings indicate that the proliferation of sharing economy platforms has contributed to housing shortages and increased prices in central urban areas, while labor markets experience growing polarization, with high-skilled workers benefiting from remote work opportunities and low-skilled gig workers facing economic precarity. This research offers valuable policy insights into the regulation of short-term rentals and the protection of gig economy workers, highlighting the need for regulatory frameworks that address urban inequality and labor market shifts. By integrating data from multiple sources, this study contributes to the academic discourse on urban economics and provides a framework for understanding the long-term socio-economic implications of the sharing economy in big cities.

Assessing Key Factors Influencing Rental Housing Choices and Affordability for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS): A Neighborhood Study in Delhi

The Economically Weaker Section (EWS) is constrained to live in slums and unauthorized colonies due to the lack of suitable housing options and affordability issues. Various factors such as building characteristics, financial constraints, and social considerations influence individuals' decisions regarding accommodation. A neighborhood in Delhi was chosen for a study to assess the importance of these factors for the EWS in rental housing. A total of 383 sample surveys were carried out to examine the socioeconomic variables and key factors influencing their choice of location, supplemented by 10 in-depth interviews to uncover hidden factors not typically found in existing literature. Principal Component Analysis was employed to identify the most crucial factors influencing accommodation choices. The study findings indicate that while the physical, locational, and economic aspects of rental housing are crucial, social factors also play a significant role. This research will offer invaluable insights to urban planners and policymakers to facilitate the provision of rental housing based on individual preferences in formulating housing policies.

Informality, affordability, and mortgage stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study of urban low-income households in Mumbai’s periphery

ABSTRACT The preexisting global urban housing affordability crisis worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within nations, households belonging to various socioeconomic strata differentially experienced housing affordability issues, with the low-income households disproportionately bearing the affordability stress compared to the higher-income households. We use a mixed-methods approach to investigate the consequences of COVID-19-induced mortgage stress in 154 low-income homebuyers living in the periphery of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in India. We draw upon the Conservation of Resources theory to study the stress outcomes due to affordability issues and understand its linkages with household financial wellbeing. A quantitative survey of 154 study participants revealed a significant relationship between mortgage stress and financial well-being mediated by financial stress. Further, qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews of 16 study participants using a comparative lens suggested that the pandemic-induced affordability issues disproportionately affected households with informal employment. Overall, the findings highlight a dynamic nature of affordability and its peculiar interplay with informality, emphasizing the urgency to reorient housing policies toward affordability and informality issues.

Application of the ARIMA model in house price index in Malaysia

The factors that affecting the escalating price of houses in Malaysia are driven by factors such as population growth, income dynamics, interest rates, and GDP. This phenomenon has notably outpaced the growth of household incomes, thus majorly impacting Malaysians. The study’s primary goal is to forecast the housing price index in Malaysia from the best model obtained using Box-Jenkins method. aligning with the 2018-2025 National Housing Policy objectives, utilizing advanced machine learning and time series modeling. The objectives guide the research: to find the best model for predicting house price index in Malaysia using Box-Jenkins Method. Utilizing secondary data from the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC) spanning from 1988 to 2023, the study employed the analytical method of ARIMA. The results favored the ARIMA (1,1,1) model as the best model in predicting housing price indexes. This offers an excellent forecasting model for residential properties towards gaining better understanding of their pricing dynamics and offers potential solutions to the issue of housing affordability for Malaysians.

Application of Constructed Wetlands to Treat Sewage by the Government in China

This study examines the deployment of constructed wetlands in China, focusing on their efficacy in water purification and ecological restoration, with a case study on the city of Wuxi. Constructed wetlands, which utilize natural processes to treat wastewater, represent a sustainable alternative to conventional methods. Despite their benefits in enhancing water quality and local biodiversity, these systems pose significant challenges, notably in land use and socio-economic impacts. The research highlights the conflict between environmental initiatives and urban development, exacerbated by land scarcity and housing affordability issues. This paper proposes strategies for optimizing wetland design and suggests policy adjustments to balance ecological benefits with urban development needs, aiming for sustainable urban planning.

Subsidies or green taxes? Evaluating the distributional effects of housing renovation policies among Dutch households

Despite persistent housing affordability issues, energy policy and housing renovation are usually investigated separately from housing costs other than energy. Researchers have examined the financial viability of renovation attending to building conditions and the socio-economic characteristics of their occupants. However, the distributional impacts of renovation incentives and the potential of fiscal policy to redistribute housing costs remain understudied. Dutch fiscal policy, favouring homeownership, offers a relevant context to evaluate how property taxation can boost renovation rates. The novelty of this paper resides in investigating the impact of two policies, the current direct subsidy and a proposal for a green tax, on both the financial viability of renovation and the subsequent distribution of housing costs. The proposed green tax combines energy efficiency and taxation of property revenue. We employ a model considering marginal costs of housing renovation, obtained from a government dataset, and marginal benefits, drawn from a hedonic regression. We assess the distributional impacts of different policy scenarios by examining changes in user costs across income deciles. Our findings indicate that existing renovation subsidies exacerbate the regressive distributional impacts resulting from the current housing taxation system in the Netherlands. Introducing energy-efficiency-linked property taxation can make homeownership fiscality less regressive while incentivising housing renovation. Ultimately, this study highlights the importance of incorporating housing affordability as a fundamental element in renovation policies to balance environmental and distributional objectives.

‘Safe as Houses’: Recalibrating Homeownership in Australian Retirement Planning

AbstractAustralia's longstanding culture of homeownership, symbolising stability and achievement, also impacts positive ageing outcomes across multiple domains. Recently, demographic and economic factors, such as housing affordability issues, insufficient income and barriers to the housing market, pose challenges to homeownership, with implications for retirement planning as the use of home equity to support ageing evolves. Secure housing and financial security are critical for successful ageing, necessitating flexible solutions and innovative financing models like fractional ownership. We raise awareness of the changing dynamics of retirement planning and accentuate the increasing significance of innovative housing solutions in supporting health during retirement.

From homeless to home: issues and challenges of housing continuity in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the issues and challenges related to housing continuity for individuals transitioning from homelessness to securing a place to live in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The aim of the study is to explore the problems and solutions in the context of housing policy, particularly as they pertain to homeless households. The study involves conducting in-depth interviews with various stakeholders involved in helping homeless households find shelter and access to public housing. Design/methodology/approach The research methodology comprises a comprehensive literature review encompassing housing affordability, affordable housing and homelessness both within Malaysia and globally to identify research gaps. One of the key questions highlighted the effectiveness of existing programs aimed at providing short-term shelter and social integration for homeless individuals. Additionally, it highlights one of the primary challenges in this process, which is the tendency of homeless individuals to return to homelessness due to various factors. The data collection uses a qualitative approach and the data are obtained through in-depth interviews with key stakeholders responsible for assisting homeless households in Klang Valley, Malaysia, encompassing federal, state and local government representatives. Purposive sampling ensures diverse stakeholder representation. Interviews are structured semi-structured to maintain consistency while allowing for open-ended discussions on challenges and successes in facilitating homeless individuals' transition to stable housing. Thematic analysis of transcribed interview data focuses on recurring themes related to housing continuity, affordability and homeless households' behavioural patterns. Findings There are five (n = 5) stakeholders consist of local government (Code: R1), ministries (Code: R2; R5) and government agencies (Code: R3; R4). The study revealed that various programs have been implemented to provide short-term shelter and facilitate the integration of homeless individuals into society. Nevertheless, a significant challenge identified was the recurring tendency of homeless households to return to homelessness. This “behavioural direction” was found to be influenced by multiple factors which includes mental health and attitude problem. The findings emphasise the need for collaborative efforts among all stakeholders to address the issues and challenges related to housing continuity in Klang Valley. Originality/value The originality of this research lies in its focus on the specific and under-researched context of Klang Valley, Malaysia, regarding the critical issues of housing affordability and the challenges of housing continuity for homeless households. While housing affordability and affordable housing are widely recognised as global housing policy concerns, this study delves into a localised setting where limited attention has been given to understanding the transitions of homeless individuals to stable housing. The findings provide unique insights into the efforts and challenges faced in Klang Valley, shedding light on the behavioural patterns and factors contributing to recurring homelessness. This paper offers a context-specific perspective that contributes to the broader understanding of housing continuity issues.

Low‐rise buildings in big cities: Theory and evidence from China

AbstractThis article explores the determinants of floor area ratio (FAR) limit, a major form of construction density regulation, in China. I develop a spatial equilibrium framework to study local governments’ optimal FAR design and investigate over 400,000 residential land transactions between 2007 and 2019 to perform the empirical analysis. Exploiting the exogenous variations generated by administrative adjustments and applying a propensity score matching approach, I find that a one standard deviation increase in local budgetary revenue decreases FAR limits by 0.29. Further counterfactual analysis suggests that the land finance model contributes to housing affordability issues and spatial inequality in China.

Living arrangements and housing affordability issues of young adults in Canada: Differences by nativity status.

Housing prices in Canada have increased dramatically, giving rise to a housing affordability crisis. Young adults have been disproportionately affected by this crisis. To cope, many young adults have had to alter their living arrangements, contributing to the diversification of their living arrangements. Young adults' diverse living arrangements are the product of growing inequalities in young adults' economic prospects and access to family support. Extant work has yet to document how young adults' risk of having unaffordable housing varies according to their living arrangements. Our comparison of young adults' risk of having unaffordable housing according to their living arrangements reveals that co-residence with parents, relatives, or roommates reduces young adults' risk of having unaffordable housing. This protective effect is smaller for the foreign-born than the Canadian-born. The National Housing Strategy should allocate more resources to increase the supply of affordable housing earmarked for young adults, particularly the foreign-born who live alone or with children.

Demographic trends in urban structures: Comparison of development in the broader centres of the cities of Brno (CZ) and Vienna (AT) in the 21st century

Czech Republic is facing housing insecurity and cities are challenged by a shortage of housing supply. The issue of housing affordability can be demonstrated on the cities of Brno and Vienna, which are connected by a close geographical position and a similar urban development in the 19th century. After 1918 (the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), the Austrian capital Vienna has focused on a continual support of social housing. The development of housing in the Czechoslovak city of Brno was changing and influenced by the period of socialism. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the housing development in Brno and Vienna has been therefore, after a politically different period, comparable again. Vienna has a similar historical development to Brno, and in the long term, it represents an adequate comparative study due to a successful social housing policy. In this paper, we mobilize a comparative study of broader city centres. The development of housing is monitored in the parameters of demographic trends. The paper reviews comparable demographic data obtained from databases of the office for national statistics of Austria and the Czech Republic: population development and population ageing expressed as a percentage of the population aged 65+ to the population aged 0-14. The study demonstrates the importance of these two indicators of demographic changes, which can reflect the attractiveness of housing for different groups of residents. The results show that in both cities, there is a population decline in historical city cores. While in the vicinity of the historical core of Vienna, there is moderate population growth, a similarly uniform trend cannot be observed in Brno.

Methods and tools for improving the efficiency of the financial mechanism for solving housing problems in the subjects of the Siberian Federal District

The article deals with the issues of housing affordability for citizens of the Siberian Federal District, the implementation of existing mortgage and non-mortgage programs on its territory, the rating of the subjects of the Russian Federation on housing affordability is assessed; the results of calculations of housing affordability index according to the methodology of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Construction of Russia) are analyzed, the problems of insufficient measures by states to increase housing affordability.

An analysis of housing affordability in Malaysia: random effect approach

Purpose The purpose of this study paper is to highlight certain related barriers and issues of housing affordability and examine the factors that influence housing affordability in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach This study used panel data including several variables, namely, household expense, population, home financing, interest rate, inflation rate (IF) and rental rate (RR). The regression models of panel data, namely, the ordinary least square model, the fixed effects model and the random effects model, were evaluated for their suitability. Findings The findings revealed that RR and IF have a positive and significant impact towards housing affordability. The results provide strong evidence that RR as alternative in determining the home affordability as it helped in reducing the cost and the financing duration period of houses while at the same time increasing the level of capability of homeownership. Meanwhile, the level of IF has positive and significant impact towards housing affordability because it will cause a drop or increase in the purchasing power of households, as well as a decline or increase in the capability to own a house. Research limitations/implications The most significant aspects to consider when analysing housing affordability in Malaysia are demand and supply. However, this study focuses on only five variables and only covers Malaysia. As a result, future researchers should analyse the study’s location, such as by region or district, and include additional variables from both the demand and supply sides. Homeownership of affordability requires a broader and more realistic definition in the current context of a more disruptive environment where technology such as fintech, blockchain and the internet of things acts as enablers for not only promoting homeownership but also ensuring homeownership sustainability. As a result, democratising Islamic home financing appears to be a viable option that requires rethinking, and further research is recommended. Practical implications The study proposes an end-to-end solution to promote homeownership levels by considering the level of RR as significant variables among stakeholders such as the house buyers/owners, sellers, investors as well the government agencies in influencing affordability in Malaysia. Originality/value This paper discusses the indicators of housing affordability index over the 21-year period of 2000–2020, covering all states in Malaysia. The comparison of affordability level can be seen through all states and by regions. Besides that, the findings revealed that RR and IF have a positive and significant impact towards housing affordability. RR is considered an essential variable in promoting homeownership in Malaysia and warrants further investigation towards policy implication. This paper also provides contribution on data on RR by states in Malaysia that can be used by policymakers to some extent.

ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABLE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN TWO PLANNED RESIDENTIAL AREAS OF KHULNA CITY

'Sustainable housing affordability’ is a relatively new concept where housing affordability is assessed in context of sustainability. It is becoming an important concern in the context of sustainable urban planning due to growing housing demand and increasing housing costs. With the rapid urbanization rate, sustainable housing affordability is becoming a concern in Bangladesh as well. Being the third-largest city of Bangladesh, Khulna is also suffering from housing affordability issues. Planned residential areas also have sustainable housing affordability concerns, which have been revealed through this research. For this research, Sonadanga and Nirala residential areas are selected for sustainable affordability issues identification, assessment, and comparison.This paper reveals that the addition of social and environmental criteria along with the economical in the housing affordability assessment can bring a vital change in the outcome. The complex proportional assessment (COPRAS) of the multi-criteria decision-making method has been used to run the assessment and comparison. The methodology includes existing criteria selection and assessment in the study area through normalized weighted values based on the local people's perception. The outcome reveals that an assessment of housing affordability in a sustainable manner can identify the affordability issues in different housing locations more accurately than the method which includes the economic criteria only.

Housing Affordability Issues in Ukraine

The article is dedicated to the analysis of population’s housing provision in Ukraine and its certain regions considering the methodological features of assessing housing affordability indicators, as well as the losses in the housing stock as a result of military invasion. The purpose of the paper is the methodological determination of housing affordability indicator, assessment of its pre-war trend in Ukraine; and determination of an acceptable for modern conditions institutional mechanism for improving housing affordability based on the principle of rent. The novelty of the research is the substantiation of use of permanent housing lease mechanism. These schemes can be implemented at the state and regional levels with the direct participation of investors and local self-government bodies within the framework of public-private partnerships. In the paper the pros and cons of the current mechanisms of housing construction and obtaining are identified; prospective directions and possible financial mechanisms for state housing policy implementation in the current condition of construction industry and population welfare are shown. Research methods are the following: correlational, analog, time series for the analysis of regional differentiation of housing affordability in Ukraine. Housing affordability has become much more complicated due to the need to restore damaged and destroyed dwellings. In view of current situation, prospective dynamics of living area commissioning indicator aimed at bringing the level of housing provision of Ukrainian citizens closer to the indicators of European countries was determined. In the absence of official housing purchase estimates at the national level, the ratio of median cost per square meter of living area to the median wage was used as the housing affordability ratio. The housing affordability ratio for the regions of Ukraine was calculated. According to the generally accepted classification of housing markets by affordability criterion, the purchase of housing in the country is significantly complicated. The correlation between the housing affordability indicator and the living area commissioning indicator was calculated, which was negative and indicated that the regional programs for providing the population with housing are critically unsatisfactory. The positive and negative features of the financial instruments for ensuring the housing affordability for the population and their compliance with the strategic goals of the housing policy development were determined. The financial and organizational mechanism of lease as a target vector for providing the population with housing was proposed.

Affordable housing and public administration of a historic city: the perspective of a local community in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, George Town, Penang State of Malaysia

ABSTRACT Urbanization process accelerates the economic growth of cities through offering economies of scale in productivity and public investment. It is a monumental responsibility for an urban government to ensure socially inclusive public administration to warrant the city’s sustainability, historic cities notwithstanding. George Town together with Melaka, has been inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) in 2008. As a joint UNESCO inscription, George Town World Heritage Site (GTWHS) which has a high proportion of formerly controlled rental housing, and is noteworthy for its multicultural community has witnessed significant gentrification. Gentrification, the repeal of Control of Rent Act, and the inscription of GTWHS have led to house price and rental hike. Generally, this study aims to investigate if there is a research gap pertaining affordable housing in WHS via literature search. Specifically, it seeks to examine housing affordability issues of GTWHS from the perspective of local communities. The findings demonstrate that affordable housing issues and its public administration are very much understudied in GTWHS. The majority of the study’s respondents perceived rentals in GTWHS as “Unaffordable,” and none of the 318-surveyed respondents has been engaged by the government on affordable housing issues. The article ends with a discussion of implications of the study’s findings.

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ROLE OF PROGRAM COMMUNITY FACILITATORS NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM (NAHP) MINISTRY OF PUPR IN BALI PROVINCE

The National Affordable Housing Program (NAHP) implemented by the Ministry of PUPR (Public Works and Public Housing) aims to address housing affordability issues in the province of Bali. As part of the program, program community facilitators play a crucial role in facilitating the implementation and ensuring the program's effectiveness. Therefore, it becomes essential to evaluate the effectiveness of these facilitators in achieving the program's objectives. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the role of program community facilitators National Affordable Housing Program (NAHP) Ministry of PUPR in the Province of Bali. The type of research used is descriptive qualitative. Descriptive provides a systematic description of cycles, problems, phenomena, services, programs, or information to individuals or groups wishing to study. The findings of this study explain the effectiveness of the role of the program has been achieved. The results of interviews with co-facilitators and beneficiary communities assessed the effectiveness of program understanding, target accuracy, timeliness, goal attainment, and real changes from the results of interviews with co-facilitators and beneficiary communities.

Are Central Banks’ Monetary Policies the Future of Housing Affordability Solutions

Housing affordability is one of the major social problems in many countries, with some advocates urging governments to provide more accessible mortgages to facilitate more homeownership. However, in recent decades more and more evidence has shown that unaffordable housing is the consequence of monetary policy. Most of the previous empirical studies have been based on econometric analyses, which make it hard to eliminate potential endogeneity biases. This cross-country study exploited the two global interest rate shocks as quasi-experiments to test the impacts and causality of monetary policy (taking real interest rates as a proxy) on house prices. Global central banks’ synchronized reduction in interest rates after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and then the global synchronized increase in interest rates after the global inflation crisis in 2022 provided both a treatment and a treatment reversal to test the monetary policy hypothesis. The stylized facts vividly reveal the negative association between interest rate changes and house price changes in many countries. This study further conducted a ten-country panel regression analysis to test the hypothesis. The results confirmed that, after controlling for GDP growth and unemployment factors, the change in real interest rate imposed a negative effect on house price growth rates. The key practical implication of this study pinpoints the mal-prescription of harnessing monetary policy to solve housing affordability issues, as it can distort housing market dynamics.

An Islamic principle-based integrated solution for China’s housing affordability issues

PurposeThis study aims to merge the world’s proven ways of housing finance, including musharakah mutanaqisah, housing cooperatives and real estate crowdfunding, to present an alternative housing unaffordability solution based on the Islamic finance principle. It is intended to reduce the burden of funding for both sides (consumers and developers) and create win–win chances for all stakeholders, including intermediaries. By moving away from debt financing and merging the features of crowdfunding and cooperative, it is hopeful that the burden of home ownership will no longer be the case.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents the opinions of potential Chinese homebuyers (minority Muslims and most non-Muslims) and a few industry experts toward the proposed model via a mixed research method.FindingsAccording to the findings, the majority of respondents agreed with the proposed paradigm. Just concerned that China’s lack of community culture and trust could pose a major threat to implementation. However, this paper argues that Chinese local governments may perform pilot testing in places where Islamic culture is prevalent. Their unique community culture and fundamental understanding of Shariah law may affect the viability of the proposed model.Originality/valueThe proposed model would increase the applicability of Islamic finance as a way of protecting the social order of communities in the spirit of upholding justice and fairness. A new type of housing loan based on musharakah mutanaqisah may squeeze out the real estate bubble and provide stakeholders with a multidimensional investment channel. In particular, the study identifies the impact of Chinese Islamic financing on government and cultural needs. It presents possible challenges for implementing the proposed model in reality and helps bridge the gap between theory and practice.

The political frame of a housing crisis: Campaigning for the right to housing in Ireland

ABSTRACT This article examines the politicized discourse employed by housing movement to shift long-standing narratives around housing, that attempt to shape the national debate over Ireland’s housing crisis. Amid issues of housing insecurity and affordability, homelessness in particular has become a hotly debated issue over the past decade and images of increasing family homelessness as a consequence of the housing crisis have sparked public outrage. Campaigners and activists have challenged the government’s market-based policy responses and demanded housing that is accessible to those who need it. The results show that while the narratives used by activists to change housing policy were somewhat successful in raising the issue of homelessness as a housing problem, the movement was less effective in motivating public concerns around housing as a fundamental right and in building a larger mass housing movement.