Dissertations

Dissertation Committee:
Petr Zemčík (chair)
Michal Kejak
Randall Filer
Peter Katuščák
Libor Dušek

Abstract:

In my dissertation I focus on exploring the major aspects of real estate markets' development over the last fifteen years. The dissertation includes theoreticalas well as empirical analysis of US and Czech real estate marketand consists of 4 chapters. In the first chapter the aggregate welfare effects of housing price appreciation in the presence of binding constraints are analyzed. The additional beneficial effect of housing price appreciation in the form of relaxation of credit constraints and opportunity for better consumption smoothing is taken into account when calculating the welfare effects of housing price appreciation. The effects of housing price appreciation are analyzed using both a model with exogenous housing prices based on previous literature as well as a newly developed model with endogenous housing prices. The second chapter explores theaggregate welfare effects of housing price changes in a stochastic general equilibrium framework with heterogeneous agents. The household sector in this model consists of two types of households, namely credit constrained and unconstrained ones, which differ both with respect to their time preferences as well as the structure of assets they own. The model also includes multi-sector production side and several sources of exogenous stochastic shocks. The third chapter explores the effects of mortgage origination fees on housing price dynamics. It uses Metropolitan Statistical Area level panel data for the period 1982–2003 and a demand/supply model of housing prices to show statistically significant negative effect of mortgage fees on housing prices. The last chapter studies the effects of gradualde regulation of regulated rents taking place in the Czech Republic since 2007 on tenure choice and price expectations of the households. For these purposes it uses Czech Household Budget Survey data, logit and probit regressions of tenure choice and present value model of renting versus owning.

Full Text: “Recent Trends in the Housing Market” by Ashot Tsharakyan