No Price Like Home: Global House Prices, 1870-2012

Moritz Schularick, Thomas Steger and Katharina Knoll

No 10166, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: How have house prices evolved over the long-run? This paper presents annual house prices for 14 advanced economies since 1870. Based on extensive data collection, we show that real house prices stayed constant from the 19th to the mid-20th century, but rose strongly during the second half of the 20th century. Land prices, not replacement costs, are the key to understanding the trajectory of house prices. Rising land prices explain about 80 percent of the global house price boom that has taken place since World War II. Higher land values have pushed up wealth-to-income ratios in recent decades.

Keywords: House prices; Land prices; Neoclassical theory; Transportation costs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N10 O10 R30 R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-his and nep-ure
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (42)

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Related works:
Journal Article: No Price Like Home: Global House Prices, 1870-2012 (2017)
Working Paper: No Price Like Home: Global House Prices, 1870 – 2012 (2016)
Working Paper: No Price Like Home: Global House Prices, 1870-2012 (2015)
Working Paper: No Price Like Home: Global House Prices, 1870-2012 (2014)
Working Paper: No price like home: global house prices, 1870-2012 (2014)
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