Immigrant language barriers and house prices

Andreas M Fischer ()

Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2012, vol. 42, issue 3, pages 389-395

Abstract: Are language skills important in explaining the nexus between house prices and immigrant inflows? The language barrier hypothesis says that immigrants from a non common language country value amenities more than immigrants from common language countries. In turn, immigrants from non common language countries are less price sensitive to house price changes than immigrants from a common language country. Tests of the language barrier hypothesis with Swiss house prices show that an immigration inflow from a non common language country equal to 1% of an area's population is coincident with an increase in prices for single-family homes of about 4.9%. Immigrant inflow from a common language country instead has no statistically significant impact.

Keywords: Immigration; House prices; (Non) common language (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J61 R21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Working Paper: Immigrant language barriers and house prices (2011)
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