Raymond J. Struyk

Segmentation in Urban Housing Markets.

Abstract This study tests the hypothesis that urban housing markets are segmented in the sense of significantly different prices per unit of housing services existing contemporaneously in spatially or structurally defined submarkets. Using an unusually rich data set for single-family, suburban Boston homes, significant differences in the prices of individual housing attributes are found; but these differences result in negligible differences in the overall price per unit of services. A main conclusion is that the market is working fairly efficiently to eliminate price premiums and discounts, at least in the portion of the market analyzed.

Housing and Poverty

A major goal of social programs in a time of fiscal austerity is to focus available assistance on those households in the greatest need. This seemingly simple dictum has become increasingly difficult to follow as the dynamics of poverty have been clarified through analysis of longitudinal panel data in recent years. We can illustrate the importance of these dynamics using the following findings about the future incomes of the 22 million people in poverty in 1967.

Housing privatization in the russian federation

Abstract In July 1991, the Russian Federation passed legislation permitting tenants of municipal and departmental housing (owned by enterprises or federal bodies) to purchase their units. This article examines the antecedents of this legislation and gives a detailed description of the laws provisions. It presents information on the early experience with the actual implementation of the program in three cities— Moscow, Ekaterinburg, and Novosibirsk from January to May 1992. The final section of the article offers a critical assessment of the privatization program. The overall conclusion is fairly pessimistic. The housing privatization program—as implemented in the spring of 1992—was in real danger of not accomplishing its major objective of transferring a substantial share of the stock to the population and thereby jolting the housing sector into operating more on market principles. Moreover, it may result in a distribution of housing assets that is more inequitable than before.

Rental housing in urban Indonesia

The importance of rental housing in providing shelter to lower-income households in cities of developing countries has appropriately been receiving additional attention in recent years (World Bank, 1984). Aside from studies of the housing exptnscs of renters. four strands in the existing literature can be distinguished: analysis of the importapcc of rental housing in urban areas and causes for changes in its importance over time;’ discussions of the renter population. particularly in relation to the likelihood of becoming homeowners;’ the cffccts of rent controls on the housing stock. and the size and distribution of benefits from such regimes;” and the detailed workings of rental markets -who develops such housing. the nature of tenant-landlord relations, and the economics of rental housing gcncrally. Interestingly, the litcraturc of rental housing is focused mainly on Latin American countries. In addition, it is sparsest in the last area of the four (i.c. rental market operations and economics of rental dcvclopmcnt). prcsumahly owing to the difficulty in assembling the necessary data. This paper provides an ovcrvicw of rental housing in the urban areas of a major Asian country Indonesia and gives particular prominence to the economics of rental housing and the operations of rental markets. The primary focus is on the segment of the market serving households in the lower 60% of the income distribution. In addition, it identifies a significant constraint on the dcvclopmcnt of adequate quality rental housing and proposes an initiative to address it. The analysis is based on a large household data set, and data on dcvclopmcnt and operating costs for 50 rental propcrtics.

Aging at home : how the elderly adjust their housing without moving

Contents Chapter 1: Introduction and Summary * Study Sample and Data Collection * Highlights * Chapter 2: Conceptual Framework * Conceptual Model * Housing Adjustments * Causal Factors * Chapter 3: The Data * Survey Design and Sample Sizes * Instrument Content * Representativeness * Chapter 4: Incidence and Dynamics * Housing Adjustments * Dwelling Attributes and Conditions * Living Arrangement and Social Support * Activity Limitations * Economic Position * Chapter 5: Multivariate Analysis * Lessons From the Incidence Analysis * Analysis Strategy * Results * Conclusions * References * Appendixes

Housing vouchers for the poor

Can the nations social programs survive the push toward leaner appropriations, a greater use of the market, and a narrower definition of the needy? A program to provide housing assistance for the poor is proposed that fills all these requirements. Housing vouchers are found to be cheaper than other housing programs and more satisfactory for participants. Moreover, the political climate augers well for the new approach.

The Russian Dacha phenomenon

Abstract This paper begins to fill the void of information about dachas in Russia by drawing on household surveys conducted in seven cities between November 1993 and January 1994. Based on these data, it appears that dachas are a common phenomenon — about one urban family in four has one, with the incidence fairly stable across cities. At the same time, these dachas range from very modest, simple structures to the elegant country house, with the clear majority at the more basic end of the spectrum. While only a small share of dachas are now used during the winter, nearly half of all owners of seasonal‐use dachas stated they definitely want to improve their unit for winter use. It seems possible that as upgrading proceeds some dachas will be converted to add to the permanent housing stock.

Exploring the effects of racial preferences on urban housing markets

Social segregation of residential areas is a fact of life in urban America, and its most vivid manifestation is racial segregation. Extreme patterns of segregation have changed very little in the postwar period. For example, the index of segregation computed by the Taeubers declined only slightly from 85.2 in 1940 to 80.0 in 1970.’ Moreover, there continues to be convincing evidence of widespread discrimination against blacks in urban housing markets, strongly affecting the availability of housing to them.2 Economists have devoted a good deal of thought to the consequences of racial prejudice and discrimination and at least three types of market inefficiencies have been identified. First, some households pay higher prices per unit of housing service than they would in the absence of prejudice; and these higher prices are not necessarily offset in the aggregate by lower prices elsewhere. Second, because of the location attributes associated with dwellings and the limited range over which units can be economically modified, prejudice causes some mismatch between desired attributes and those purchased. The high incidence of dwelling deficiencies in units occupied by blacks compared to whites in the same economic circumstances is one indication of this phenomenon. 3 Third, premature depreciation and abandonment of some housing results from neighborhood succession patterns

The Evolving Housing Market in Moscow: Indicators of Housing Reform

With the Russian housing reform underway for several years, this is an appropriate time to review the progress made towards the stated goal of creating a market-oriented housing sector. From the fundamental shift towards private ownership to the supporting legislation, substantial progress has been made towards the realisation of this goal. One of the most significant elements of the housing reform is the law on privatisation of the housing stock passed by the Supreme Soviet in June 1991. Subsequent legislation passed in December 1992 further spurred the reform process. The most far-reaching of these measures was the law On Fundamentals of Housing Policy in the Russian Federation, which addressed the overall orientation of housing policy. This paper examines the results of the housing policy reforms in terms of their effects on private ownership, residential mobility, housing conditions and housing affordability. Longitudinal data on these four characteristics of the Moscow housing sector document the large distortions of the Soviet system and the improvements resulting from recent reforms.

Housing Older America

An underlying goal of government involvement in the housing sector is to promote the well-being of the population. This goal, which became a legislative mandate with the call for “a decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling for every American” in the 1937 Housing Act, is based on the presumption that housing conditions have significant effects on the health and welfare of the citizenry. The implied logic of this relationship is that if deleterious conditions are identified, government programs can be developed to eliminate or counteract them. Efforts to achieve this goal have taken many forms. Two prominent examples are construction and rehabilitation programs to improve housing conditions and rent subsidy programs that reduce the burden of housing costs for the poor.