The role of state and market in the Malaysian housing sector

This paper discusses the development of housingpolicy in Malaysia, focusing on the role ofstate and market in low-income housingprovision. Since independence, the state hasstrongly intervened in the housing sector, andits housing policies have expressed its racialand political preferences in housingdevelopment and distribution. The privatesector performs better than the public sector.But the excessive state control over housinghinders the development of the market, while the potential of the private sector's capacityis under-utilised. The paper illustrates theproblems of the housing system and ends withsome recommendations for ways to overcome theseproblems.     

The future of Dutch housing associations

This paper discusses the future of the social rented sector in the Netherlands. There are several reasons why the position of this sector is currently under close scrutiny. Whereas attention to social rented housing had lapsed by the start of this century, the growing housing shortage and stagnation in the restructuring of older urban areas brought this sector back into the political spotlight. Also the European Commission is having a major impact on the future position of the sector. The Commission has ordered the Dutch Government to establish a level playing field by abolishing the privileges of the housing associations. Against this background, this paper discusses the possible tasks and proper functioning of the Dutch housing associations.     

Regeneration of Dutch post-war urban districts: the role of housing associations

In the Netherlands the regeneration of post-war urban districts is closely intertwined with the role of housing associations. This is hardly surprising, given that the housing associations have such a large share of the market (usually over 50%; sometimes nearly 100%) in many early post-war urban districts. This has caused a growing concentration of low-income households in those urban areas and a selective migration by middle- and high-income households from the city to the suburb. Official government policy on housing and urban renewal is directed at a redifferentiation of the urban housing stock. Specifically, the policy promotes more owner-occupation, larger and higher-quality homes, and a greater percentage of homes with a garden. This implies the demolition of social housing estates and selling social housing. The position of housing associations in the regeneration of Dutch post-war urban districts is somewhat enigmatic. On the one hand, national government is expecting them to take initiative and invest in urban renewal; on the other, government is urging them to cut down their market share. How are housing associations coping with this paradoxical challenge? And what are the current national policies about the position of housing associations? Aedes (the umbrella organisation of Dutch housing associations) and the Dutch Ministry of Housing have agreed upon the so-called great transition of housing associations. Here we explain and critique this great transition, which will hamper the current regeneration of Dutch urban districts. As an alternative we present the new transition.     

The stability of the German housing market

The last decade has been marked by cycles of excessive boom and bust in the housing market. However, not all countries have experienced high volatility in their house prices. Indeed, Germany has been unique in retaining flat price levels over the whole period and failing to respond to any of the macroeconomic shocks. The main reason for this stability can be found in real estate finance and in the existence of a sophisticated rental market. While in other countries monetary stimuli are effectively transmitted to the real economy via the housing market, the German insistence on prudential lending isolates the housing market from financial market distortions. By demanding high deposits, by aligning lending to the mortgage lending value instead of the market value and by offering predominantly fixed-rate mortgages, banks reduce the risk of defaults and thus contribute to stability in the market. This system has evolved as a result not of regulations but of a sophisticated rental market, which enables households to save their own funds for house purchases. This, in turn, explains the preference for fixed-rate mortgages.     

The role of sentiment in housing market with credit-led funding: the case of Turkey

Journal of Housing and the Built Environment - This paper investigates the long run relationship among sentiment, which is defined as the aggregate investor attitude, housing credit and prices, and...     

The alternative financialization of the German housing market

While many European countries experienced a global housing boom in the early/mid-2000s, house prices and mortgage debt in Germany stagnated. Therefore, the German housing system is considered to be operating outside financialized capitalism. Despite Germany’s apparent stability, we argue that an alternative trajectory of financialization in the German housing market can be observed. This trajectory has followed three stages or ‘waves’. The first wave started around the time of German unification and is characterized by the failed attempt of West German banks to marketize and liberalize German housing finance. The second wave started in the late 1990s and is characterized by the ‘financialized privatization’ of many public housing associations and the speculative investments of private equity firms and hedge funds. The third wave started during the global financial crisis and is characterized by booming housing prices and the market entry of listed real estate companies.     

Tornado shelters and the housing market

Mitigation against natural hazards often involves long‐lived, immobile investments. Home owners must be able to capture the present value of future benefits to equate the private and societal return on mitigation. The capitalization of mitigation into home prices thus is crucial for home owners to have a proper incentive for mitigation. We investigate the existence of a premium for tornado shelters using home sales in Oklahoma City, where the deadly tornado outbreak of 3 May 1999 and the Oklahoma Saferoom Initiative increased public awareness of tornado shelters. We find that a shelter increases the sale price of a home by 3.5% to 4% or approximately $4200 given the mean price of homes sold in 2005. The magnitude of the premium is plausible given that shelters retail for $2500–$3000 installed.     

Performance assessment of housing associations

This article analyzes the function, design, and effects of a method to assess the performance of housing associations in the Netherlands. First, the roles of performance assessment are discussed from three perspectives: the association as an agent for the central government; the association as a facilitator of local stakeholders’ needs; and the association as an autonomous social entrepreneur. From each of these stereotypical perspectives, we derive the approaches to and functions of performance assessment. The resulting theoretical archetypes of performance assessment are then employed to analyze the method that was in place in 2005 in the Netherlands. The performance assessment system is also analyzed using the director, detector, and effector elements drawn from cybernetic theory. Furthermore, the Dutch performance assessment method is briefly compared with the English inspection system. This provides a better understanding of the types of performance assessment. In light of the identified perspectives on housing associations, we conclude that the Dutch method performs poorly on the director and effector element and that the English method performs relatively well on all elements. Nevertheless, in both countries adjustments in the performance assessment system can increase learning and improve the performance of housing associations.     

The British housing market: contained and exploding

While the long run trend in housing prices in the UK has been upwards since the mid-1950s the post 1998 boom represents short term volatility and threatens stability in the wider economy. This paper argues the fundamental reason driving both the rise in the real price of housing and its increased volatility is the increasing constraint on the supply or urban space applied by the British system of land use planning and its attempts to contain urban areas. Housing is an economic good and the supply of available housing space is allocated through the market. As incomes rise people try to purchase more space. This not only drives up the price of space and so housing but it also makes the supply of housing more inelastic and so the price more volatile. Housing increasingly behaves like a financial asset marker rather than a market for housing services.     

Heritage attributes of post-war housing in Amsterdam

Modern heritage, particularly post-war social housing estates, is struggling with negative perceptions. Accordingly, this research aims to contribute to a better understanding of the heritage significance of post-war housing estates in general and the Western Garden Cities – a post-war neighborhood in Amsterdam – in particular. A review of the limited body of literature on the heritage significance of modern and post-war housing estates was performed. A significance assessment was conducted on a sample of representative case studies by using expert interviews for data collection. The experts assigned significance levels to attributes based on whether or not they need to be preserved during a sustainable refurbishment. The highest-valued attributes are parcellation, balconies, and semi-public green spaces. The most negative value was assigned to the application of external insulation, replacement of the window frames by PVC-U, and closed character of the façades on the ground floor level. The lack of heritage recognition at the lower scale level may either be due to the important details already being lost or details not yet consistently being recognized as the architecture and buildings are understudied in comparison with the urban qualities of post-war heritage.     

The Danish housing market: Housing policies for different housing tenure

Since 1987 interest and publication in Norwegian housing policies have increased significantly. This article deepens and widens my earlier published work on Norwegian housing policy, and it responds to some earlier reviews of my work. The central themes of the article are that Norway has used state policy to develop its housing sector over many decades; that since the mid‐1970s policy makers have had to adjust their housing system to national and international macro‐economic change; and that in a comparative perspective, Norway has pursued housing policies which have important anti‐poverty elements, some egalitarianism, and some useful choice and efficiencies. Norway has used balanced state, market, and self‐help roles to develop its housing sector, and the institutional framework in which these roles operate has been reformed since the late‐1970s in the light of changing economic, social, and political conditions. Changes in the international economy have been particularly significant as Norway depends upon the international economy to sustain its living standards, including its housing standards.     

The British housing market: contained and exploding1

While the long run trend in housing prices in the UK has been upwards since the mid‐1950s the post 1998 boom represents short term volatility and threatens stability in the wider economy. This paper argues the fundamental reason driving both the rise in the real price of housing and its increased volatility is the increasing constraint on the supply or urban space applied by the British system of land use planning and its attempts to contain urban areas. Housing is an economic good and the supply of available housing space is allocated through the market. As incomes rise people try to purchase more space. This not only drives up the price of space and so housing but it also makes the supply of housing more inelastic and so the price more volatile. Housing increasingly behaves like a financial asset marker rather than a market for housing services.