Measuring the housing sector’s contribution to GDP in emerging market countries

Purpose This paper aims to document the economic importance of the housing sector, as measured by its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), which is not fully recognized. In response to the joint economic and health crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an opportunity for emerging market countries to develop and implement inclusive housing strategies that stimulate the economy and improve community health outcomes. However, so far housing does not feature prominently in the recovery plans of many emerging market countries. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses national account data and informal housing estimates for 11 emerging market economies to estimate the contribution of housing investments and housing services to the GDP of these countries. Findings This paper finds that the combined contribution of housing investments and housing services represents between 6.9% and 18.5% of GDP, averaging 13.1% in the countries with information about both. This puts the housing sector roughly on par with other key sectors such as manufacturing. In addition, if the informal housing sector is undercounted in the official national account figures used in this analysis by 50% or 100%, for example, then the true averages of housing investments and housing services’ contribution to GDP would increase to 14.3% or 16.1% of GDP, respectively. Research limitations/implications Further efforts to improve data collection about housing investments and consumption, particularly imputed rent for owner occupiers and informal activity require national government to conduct regular household and housing surveys. Researcher can help make these surveys more robust and leverage new data sources such as scraped housing price and rent data to complement traditional surveys. Better data are needed in order to capture housing contribution to the economy. Practical implications The size of the housing sector and its impact in terms of employment and community resilience indicate the potential of inclusive housing investments to both serve short-term economic stimulus and increase long-term community resilience. Originality/value The role of housing in the economy is often limited to housing investment, despite the importance of housing services and well-documented methodologies to include them. This analysis highlights the importance of housing to the economy of emerging market countries (in addition to all the non-GDP related impact of housing on welfare) and indicate data limitation that need to be addressed to further strengthen the case for focusing on housing as part of economic recovery plans.

The situation and solutions to develop Green Building in Vietnam

Housing in Vietnames megacities is quite expensive due to limited land availability. Besides, green housing investment requires higher implementation costs than non-green housing investments, plus a Green Building certification fee implemented by international organizations. Despite specific difficulties and problems, green real estate projects bring economic benefits to both investors and users in the long run. Green building development is a trend that is particularly interested in by governments and real estate developers. Through analyzing the current status of Green Building development in Vietnam, the authors have discovered barriers, limitations, and proposed solutions. To develop green buildings effectively, investors need to operate a 5-step process throughout the project life cycle, including Green planning — Green design — Green construction — Green operation — Green lifestyle. Using environmentally friendly materials, energy-saving efficiency in green housing is no longer an unattainable dream for urban residents in Vietnam.

Wspólnie czy indywidualnie? Na własność czy wynajem? Wszystkim czy wybranym? Dylematy współczesnej polskiej polityki mieszkaniowej

The article contains an overview of the housing situation in Poland in three dimensions: the availability of housing, the capacity to buy or rent a dwelling and the quality of housing standards in the context of the national and local housing policies. It begins with an assessment of the scale and dynamics of residential investment in Poland over the last 30 years. In the next part, the author estimates the economic return on housing investments, stressing that expectations as to the growth of housing prices in Poland are the key determinant of investment decisions. As the analysis shows, the promotion of housing ownership has had negative social effects and, with temporarily cheap and available money, has fuelled the growth of housing prices.

Exploring the Factors Influencing Kaohsiung Residents’ Intentions to Choose Age-Friendly Housing

Taiwan’s declining birthrate has changed the housing market, which should become more consumer-oriented in the future. In particular, age-friendly housing has become a salient housing choice among buyers. Age-friendly housing consists of housing units that are suitable for occupants of any age. There are three concepts underlying such housing: aging in place, multigenerational-multiunit living arrangements, and lifetime homes. This study aimed to examine the factors affecting consumers’ choice of age-friendly housing. The participants were residents of Kaohsiung City, and data analysis was performed using a binary logistic model. The empirical results indicated that adult sons/daughters, residents who currently live in the city center, residents who have a high or medium monthly family income, residents who are currently part of a stem family, residents who desire to live under multigenerational-multiunit living arrangements, residents who desire to be a part of a stem family, and residents who prioritize housing type when house-buying are significantly more likely to choose age-friendly housing. These results can serve as a reference regarding age-friendly housing investments for investors, as well as for house buyers who are deliberating between age-friendly housing and ordinary housing.

The financialisation of housing and the rise of the investor-activist

The financialisation of housing is seen to undermine tenants’ rights, affordable housing and planning controls in order to make housing and homes more amenable to profit extraction. However, the extent to which owner-occupiers themselves seek to influence urban development and planning processes to protect their housing assets has been less well-considered. Through an online survey of 1122 owner-occupiers in Australia, this article redresses this gap. By identifying the financial values participants attach to their home, and their inclinations to join resident action groups, we reveal that those with the strongest investment values are also most inclined to join resident action groups. Expanding conceptualisations of investors beyond institutional investors, the article reveals the agency of financialised owner-occupiers who, as investor-activists, seek to influence planning processes to secure the profitability of their own housing assets. The article thus reconceptualises resident action as a financial strategy to protect long- and short-term housing investments and, in doing so, charts the urban implications of financialised home ownership and investor subjectivities.

The locations of housing investments in Lower Silesia Province versus changes in spatial disproportions in the social and economic development of the region

The purpose of the paper is to present the locations of housing investments in Lower Silesia province, with a special consideration for cities/towns and suburban areas, and to evaluate their potential impact on reducing spatial disproportions in the region development. The study covers the territory of Lower Silesia province, especially cities/towns which are leading for housing investments locations. The research period is 2011-2017. The paper presents the relations and feedbacks between a housing investment location and the social and economic development and growth.