Introduction from the editor

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Volume 6, Issue 2

Welcome to the second issue in the sixth volume of the journal. Since commencing as journal editor with the initial first issue in 2008 there have been steady marked increases in both the quantity and quality of submissions to the journal. The acknowledgement of quality has also been recognised by external bodies such as “Scopus” as a respected industry citation index. More recently there have been other industry bodies which have ranked the journal based on a quality index with reference to all journals. For example, the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) allocated a ranking of “B” to this journal which is the highest ranking allocated to a relatively new property journal and clearly reflects the high level of quality.

The demand by authors to “publish or perish” in fully refereed journals has seemingly never been higher in academic circles. From an editor’s perspective this means internationally recognised journals climbing the journal rankings have been receiving a record number of submissions. Whilst this higher level of competition results in a circular equation of increasing quality and therefore more submissions, prospective authors must continue to ensure their research paper is aligned to the journal they have selected for submission. In the same manner as the differences between authors’ research areas, there are large differences between the focus of each journal and a prospective author must be fluent with what the journal publishes. At the very least they must read recent issues and become familiar with the content. The next critical step is to closely adhere to the submission guidelines and journal requirements which are always provided in detail on the journal’s web site. Failure to adhere to either of these details will likely result in a rejection of submission which will delay the potential eventual publication of the paper, possibly by many months or a year.

This issue includes six papers focussed on research into housing markets in five different countries: China, England, Estonia, Sweden (two papers) and the USA. All papers have passed through a double blind refereed process and I would like to thank the large number of invisible referees who assist with this important role. This process ensures all submissions pass though a rigorous review and the feedback to the authors ensures the high level of quality is maintained. With the minority of submissions to this journal being published, these six papers have proven their merit in being published in this issue.

The first paper titled “Estonian housing market: affordability problems and regulatory framework” examined housing affordability in Estonia and acknowledged the various definitions of housing affordability. The authors proposed an innovative index referred to as Housing Affordability Index (HAI)after reviewed alternative housing indexes. The findings emphasised the viability of adopting the proposed HAI and also discussed suggested approaches for implementing government initiatives. The second paper titled “Community engagement and social exclusion: the BME experience” examines community regeneration and discusses the potential for partnerships in the delivery of regeneration to a community. The scope of the paper is based on the challenges facing black and minority ethnics (BMEs) with reference to social exclusion in England. The analysis concluded that local councils and other regeneration service providers are channelling more resources into areas where there is a dominance of ethnic minority groups.

The third paper examines the Swedish housing market and asked an increasingly common question: “Are Swedish houses overpriced?” This is based on a 130 percent increase in house values in Sweden since 1990 and the expectation of a potential “bubble”. Housing data between 1986 and 2011 is modelled using an ECM with the findings suggesting higher household disposable income and decreasing mortgage rates are driving the level of house prices upwards. The fourth paper is titled “The value of a floor: valuing floor level in high-rise condominiums in San Diego” and provides insightful research into the value drivers behind varying floor levels in a multi-level residential building. The study uses sale price as the dependant variable where the authors estimate four different specifications and conclude that floor level has a significant price on price in all four models. The paper includes a review of high-rise residential buildings in other international markets to ensure the findings of this study are relevant from an international perspective.

The fifth paper, being the second paper from Sweden in this issue, is titled“The relationship between consumer characteristics and mortgage preferences: a case study from Sweden” and examines the decisions of single-person households with reference to their financial choices including the mortgage rate as their singles most important credit decision. The data was sourced from a national survey conducted in Sweden in 2010 and produced two models which examined the decisions of 505 mortgage holders. The results implied the most vulnerable Swedish mortgage borrowers selected fixed rate mortgages and overall the findings did not encourage additional legislation or policy changes. The final paper provides a rare insight into the Chinese property market and is titled “Consumer investment preferences and the Chinese real estate market”. It investigates the relationships between broader economic indicators and the real estate market in China. This is one of the first studies in this area and proposes a concept titled “investment preference theory” to explain the influence of specific variables on the market. The finding increases the level of understanding about Chinese investment decisions with direct relevance to the housing market.

I encourage the submission of articles for publication about housing markets which contribute to our collective body of knowledge in this area. Countries with housing markets which are often over-looked in terms of research, such as developing countries, are also encouraged to submit a paper or alternatively email me directly if unsure. If you have any comments or are interested in submitting a research paper, please contact the editor at: richard.reed@deakin.edu.au

Richard G. Reed