Investigating housing supply and monetary policy under global economic turbulence

This research has contributed to literature by identifying the impacts of monetary policy and global economic turbulence on the supply side of the housing sector under a vector error correction model. The research outcomes provided policy makers with an insight to change Australia's housing shortage and declining housing affordability.

Effective housing management framework for multi-owner low-cost housing in Malaysia

The aim of this study is to improve the management of multi-storey low-coast housing occupied by low-income households in Malaysia.  this study suggests the residents' background and socio-economic, the occupancy rates, residents' satisfaction with their dwellings and neighbours could resolve and improve housing management issues.

Multi-owner low-cost housing management in Malaysia : effects of owner-occupant characteristics and occupancy rates

Purpose – Homeownership is considered both economically and socially beneficial for homeowners. However, in the collective living arrangement, reaching a consensus with regard to the residential environment is difficult. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that can reduce the conflict among the stakeholders in multi-owner low-cost housing in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach – This study tested three hypotheses examining whether the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of owner-occupants and occupancy rates affect owner-occupants' satisfaction with stakeholders' relationships. Data were collected through questionnaires from owner-occupants of multi-owner low-cost settlements in Selangor state. Data on housing characteristics were collected from chairpersons of the respective owners' organisations. The data were treated as parametric, and analysis of variance was conducted.
Findings – Four factors – number of children in the family, duration of residency, participation in social activities and participation in meetings – were found to affect owners-occupants' satisfaction with the stakeholders' relationships. The significant effect of occupancy rates was also indicated.
Practical implications – The Management Corporations (MCs) should encourage social relationships among residents. To avoid conflict, the costs and benefits of participation must be balanced. Policy makers should take two key aspects seriously: owner-managed strategy practices by the MCs and high rates of tenant-residents. A mechanism should be identified for assisting the MCs in housing management and for protecting the benefits of homeownership for owner-occupants.
Originality/value – Past studies on low-income household settlements examined public housing or low-income homeowners of single detached dwellings. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge by examining low-income homeowners in multi-owner low-cost settlements.

The cost of housing : more than just dollars

Australians were recently awarded the dubious honour of building the largest homes in the world. Our new homes are now seven percent larger than those in the United States and nearly three times larger than those in the United Kingdom. At the same time, the price of an average residential property is now five times what it was 20 years ago. Although incomes have risen over the same period, they have not kept pace with rising house prices. In terms of disposable income, the cost of housing has almost doubled. While traditional housing affordability is measured in terms of house prices and incomes, a broader and more encompassing perspective also indicates that we can no longer ‘afford’ to build houses as we have done in the past. The environmental impact of modern Australian housing is significant. Australians have resisted the need for increased urban density as their capital city populations grow and new houses have been built on the outskirts of the existing cities, encroaching on the greenwedge and agricultural lands, destroying and degrading existing fauna and flora. The houses built have increased carbon emissions because of their size, embodied energy and reliance on the motor car. This paper discusses the environmental ‘affordability’ of current Australian housing and argues that this must be considered alongside traditional affordability criteria so that a more holistic approach to the issues is adopted.

Impact of past and future residential housing development patterns on energy demand and related emissions

The continued outward growth from a central business district has been the dominant characteristic of most cities in Australia. However, this feature is seen as unsustainable and alternative scenarios to contain the outward growth are being proposed. Melbourne is currently grappling with this issue while simultaneously trying to reduce per capita greenhouse gas emissions. Housing size, style and its location are the three principal factors which determine the emissions from the residential sector. This paper describes a methodology to assess the combined impact of these factors on past and possible future forms of residential development in Melbourne. The analysis found that the location of the housing and its size are the dominant factors determining energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Analysing the relationship between new housing supply and residential construction costs with the regional heterogeneities

New housing supply in Australia has been experiencing a low rate of increase in conjunction with a dramatic increase in residential construction costs since the 1990s. This study aims to estimate the relationship between new housing supply and residential construction costs with the regional heterogeneities. Based on a panel error correction model, it can be identified that there is a causal link as well as a significant correlation between new housing supply and construction costs in the Australian sub-national housing construction markets. The model developed in this research assists policy makers to better understand the nature of the supply side of the housing sector and then enact appropriate policies to improve the new housing supply in Australia.

Volatility decomposition of Australian housing prices

This study examines the volatility pattern of Australian housing prices. The approach for this research was to decompose the conditional volatility of housing prices into a “permanent” component and a “transitory” component via a Component-Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (C-GARCH) model. The results demonstrate that the shock impact on the short-run component (transitory) is much larger than the long-run component (permanent), whereas the persistence of transitory shocks is much less than permanent shocks. Moreover, both permanent and transitory volatility components have different determinants. The results provide important new insights into the volatility pattern of housing prices which has direct implications for investment in housing by owner-occupiers and investors.

Analysing the transmission pattern within the framework of housing supply and monetary policy in Australia

Housing supply is one of important components of the housing sector. Compared with an increasingly strong housing demand, the growth rates of total housing stock in Australia have exhibited a downward trend since the end of the 1990s whilst the significant adjustments in the Australian monetary policy were being implemented. This research aims to estimate the nature of the relationship between housing supply and monetary policy by a vector error correction model. According to the empirical results, a transmission pattern comprised of the indicators associated with housing supply and monetary policy can be identified, which suggests that there is a significant interrelationship between monetary policy and the supply side of the housing sector in Australia.

A holistic approach to the evaluation of sustainable housing

Residential housing is often evaluated against single or at best a limited number of similar criteria. These include quantifiable indicators such as energy use and its associated greenhouse gas emissions. It might also include material consumption from an embodied energy or resource use perspective. Social factors or qualitative indicators may be evaluated but are rarely placed or juxtaposed alongside these quantifiable indicators. A one-dimensional approach will be limiting because sustainable development includes both environmental and social factors. This paper describes the methodologies that have been developed to assess housing developments against five quite different criteria. These are: energy use, resource use, neighbourhood character, neighbourhood connectedness and diversity. In each case, high and low sustainability practice has been identified so that ranking is possible. These methodologies have then been tested by evaluating a typical precinct (approximately 400 m by 400 m) of a 1970-80s housing development in a suburb of Geelong. The rankings of the particular precinct have then been combined in a visual way to assist in the evaluation of the housing in a more holistic way. The results of this evaluation method are presented, along with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the methodologies. The research is the outcome of collaboration by a cross-disciplinary group of academics within Deakin’s School of Architecture and Building.

Energy and greenhouse gas emissions implications of alternative housing types for Australia

Many cities around the world are looking for ways to reduce their per capita greenhouse gas emissions. The outward growth of cities from a central business district, typical of many cities around the world, is often seen as working against this goal and as unsustainable. This is especially the case in circumstances where this growth is not supported by the necessary infrastructure, often resulting in an increase in the use of private transport. However, alternative scenarios to contain the outward growth are being proposed. This paper provides a comparison of the energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions between typical detached outer-suburban housing currently being built in Australia's major cities and inner-city and -suburban apartments, which are increasingly seen as a legitimate alternative to the housing that is currently being built on our outer city fringes. By analysing the energy demand associated with the construction and operation of each housing type and for occupant travel it was found that the location of the housing and its size are the dominant factors determining energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The findings from this analysis provide useful information for policy-makers in planning the development of our cities into the future, when faced with a growing population and an increasing need to minimise greenhouse gas emissions.