Articles 1 to 7 of 7
Housekeeping for regulators of volatile housing markets
World housing markets have gone through a volatile period of boom and bust, triggering the financial crisis and subsequent economic downturn. While it might be tempting for governments to contemplate on housing bubbles by means of monetary policy or direct controls over housing prices, such moves are far more complicated than it seems. Housing prices are influenced by various factors and governments have a limited handle on them at best. Raising interest affects other sectors of the economy - not just housing. So what can governments do? What should be the ultimate goal of housing policy?
Why should investors stay positive on the Asian real estate markets?
Asia’s real estate market has weakened in tandem with lower equity prices. Singapore is no exception. Gone (for now) is the frenzied buying that marked 2007 and 2008, as everyone hunkers down for a possible protracted slump in the global economy. Many property buyers are caught with assets declining in value. Should investors thus stay away from Asia’s property market? What are the challenges facing the industry players, and is there a recovery on the horizon?
Profit or Growth: Can Singapore's Building and Construction Industry Attain Both?
Singapore’s building and construction industry accounts for about 4% of gross domestic product. Working closely with the country's Building and Construction Authority (BCA), the Singapore Management University (SMU) recently launched a SMU-BCA advanced joint management programme to develop strategic management capabilities of senior executives in the sector. Six panelists comprising industry leaders participated afterwards in a discussion on “Profit or Growth – How to Attain Both”, moderated by SMU’s dean of executive and professional education, Annie Koh.
Subprime Lending: Did it Lead to the Real Estate Boom and Bust?
Is there a link between the availability of aggressive home loan lending and the price of homes? In a paper presented at the Far East and South Asian Meeting of the Econometric Society 2008, hosted by the Singapore Management University, Wharton professors Susan Wachter and Andrey Pavlov show that it is the fluctuation in the use of aggressive instruments which exacerbates the market downturns, and not the fact that such instruments generate higher default rates.
Preventing a Real Estate Bubble in Asia: Can Loan Securitisation Help?
Real estate is among the most highly leveraged sectors of an economy, which makes it more likely than others to precipitate a financial crisis, as happened in some Asian countries in 1997-1998. At the recent East Asian Seminar on Economics (EASE) of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), held at Singapore Management University, Richard Green, Roberto S. Mariano, Andrey Pavlov and Susan Wachter presented a joint paper suggesting that asset securitisation could help reduce such risks.
Global Hotspots in the Real Estate Business
Emerging real estate markets in India and China, along with recovering property industries in Germany and Japan, are among the top destinations for global real estate investors, according to panelists at the Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center's fall meeting. During a session titled, "Global Hot Spots -- How to Think about Hot Foreign Markets," Wharton real estate professor Peter Linneman called on each panelist to describe the markets they find most intriguing.
Going Up: Real Estate Is on the Rise Again in Japan
Nothing symbolizes Japan's bubble economy, or its subsequent long slump, more than real estate. Now, after dropping by as much as 70%, real estate prices are ticking up, signaling a renewed Japanese economy. A major restructuring of the nation's financial system, along with an injection of foreign capital and the introduction of publicly traded real estate investment trusts, are driving the real estate revival, according to Wharton faculty and real estate analysts working in Tokyo.
